Dystopia
by MelissaCanFlyy
Summary: 21-year-old Lara Croft is stranded on Rook Islands. The ship she had sailed on, The Endurance, was torn apart by a violent storm when she set out to 'make her mark'. The dangers within the jungle were stronger than she ever anticipated when she encounters the terrifying character, Vaas.
1. Breath of Life

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **The term _dystopia_ refers to a community or society that is considered undesirable or frightening and is characterised by human misery and oppression – virtually, the opposite of _utopia_.

_Breath of Life_ is a song by Florence + the Machine.

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** I created a GIF set on Tumblr which featured Vaas and Lara. It acquired a lot more notes than I expected so it inspired me to actually write a fanfic. I just want to see if this gets remotely popular – if I get a decent amount of feedback, I may continue and complete it.

Lara Croft (2013) is different to any other Lara Croft that's been depicted before, so I'm going to put that out there. Her character may seem different, her past may have altered, but I'm going to keep true as I can to her character. She's still strong both physically and mentally, even if she doesn't realise it yet.

**Chapter 1: Breath of Life**

I awoke choking on the salty waters of the sea. Whilst being unconscious my body had probably managed to consume an unhealthy and dangerous amount of seawater. The notion of this danger I discarded quickly upon the realisation that I had far bigger, direr predicaments that I ought to be concerned with. It was vital that I figure out my priorities fast, for I would surely die if I to ponder my situation any longer.

First of all, I needed to gather my thoughts. Where was I? How did I get here? It was all very confusing, disorientating and most of all, exhausting. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened – nor was there any warning for the rest of my shipmates. A storm is both uncaring and unpredictable; those two together are bound to result in devastating destruction. It had caught everyone off guard and now they were all gone. How many actually resurfaced after the wreckage remained a mystery. It was a number I couldn't stomach, no doubt.

I fell to my knees, clutching my sides, as the conclusion that I was stranded dawned on me. My friends had been torn from me, some possibly dead. I was hopelessly dehydrated with no source of sustenance or ideal water supply. My uncontrollable thirst was almost driving me to resort to the seawater; it was taking all the strength I could muster within my weak mind and exhausted body to refrain from doing so. My brush with death made me realise how fragile a life was and how easily it could be taken away. I wasn't going to let it get taken away so easily by riskily drinking the potential poison in hopes that I'd survive. Many have tried before and many have died trying. That was one risk I wasn't willing to take.

Crepuscular rays began to shine down upon the shore as the dark grey clouds cracked. I looked up squinting at the sun. Without any proper or logical explanation, the clearing of the skies boosted my morale. Maybe the optimist within me saw the light as a symbol. It was a symbol to motivate me. The worst was over. I had hit rock bottom and now there was nowhere else to go but up. I picked myself back up on my feet with newfound energy and determination to find survivors from the capsized ship. I'm almost certain that there has to be at least someone else who survived. I couldn't be the only one. If so, why was I so lucky to have survived? There was a moment on the ship where I was sure that death was inevitable. Surviving it either meant I was extremely lucky or I was a lot stronger than I thought. Either way it had given me a lot more willpower to get through this disaster, with or without other survivors.

Despite my agonised state and despite my lack of physical energy, I loped towards a group of large boulders. I clambered to the top of the highest boulder, overexerting myself in the process. Once I had reached the top and stood stable upon the boulder, I let a worn-out sigh escape. From my perspective, I could see no sign of life, let alone one of my friends. Still, hope was not lost. Any survivors may have ventured into the depths of the jungle. Searching the jungle was my next plan of action, albeit the size of the jungle makes it a daunting task, but I highly doubt any survivors made it too deep into the wilderness.

I stared from my perch on the boulder at the vast woodland before me. It was almost intimidating. I am defenceless. What has an ill-prepared, unarmed, weak girl got against the harsh realities that lay within the jungle? Harsh realities meaning inevitable peril – for all that I had on my side was lady luck. In these desperate times, luck was all that I could depend on.

I sucked in to prepare myself for what lay ahead. Though, I knew nothing could fully prepare me.

As I readied myself to climb down the boulders, a gunshot echoed from within the trees. It caught me off guard, so my foot misplaced its step causing me to topple down the boulders and onto the sand with a thud. I let out a pained groan as I pushed my body up. The gunshot was followed shortly after by a scream, then a rumble something humane; it sounded like a large rabble of people. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. I couldn't fathom what had just happened. The voices I heard all sounded masculine, that's for sure. I hopefully wondered whether the sounds came from my fellow shipmates. Maybe it was wishful thinking. At least it was some sign of life. They may have been hunters, considering there was a gunshot. The scream was a strange one. It sounded neither frightened nor hurt. It almost sounded gleeful.

As I brushed myself off standing up from the sand, I noticed very prominent puffs of black smoke coming from within the trees and leading up into the blue sky. It was smoke from a campfire. This was the perfect sign of life as it also leads me to the source. I now had something to track whilst in the midst of the trees. Hopefully, if I keep following the smoke, I'll reach the camp before nightfall. I set off quickly as the sun looked as if it was about to set soon. I did not want to be travelling through the forest at night. Darkness put an emphasis on any dangers that could possibly be lurking through the trees – whether those dangers are real or just a figment of your imagination.

So, off I set, naively underestimating the true ferocity that lay before me.

_"In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again." –__**Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland**_


	2. Cataclysm

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **The term cataclysm means a violent disturbance, specifically one of a social nature.

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** I thrive off reviews, favourites, follows (notes, if you're reading this on Tumblr). I feed off them. Without them I will die, as will this story. Considering I got some nice feedback on the first chapter, you have successfully kept the motivation to write this at bay. Give yourself a pat on the back.

Thank you, _ . _and _zoeythara _for reviewing on . They genuinely made me happy, so thank you a lot. As for the tumblr peeps, your likes, reblogs, asks are very wonderful indeed, too.

**Chapter 2: Cataclysm**

I had been walking for what felt like an eternity. My ankles had swelled and my arms were now completely limp. Thankfully, I managed to locate a few sources of nutrition on the journey to the unidentified camp. There was a variety of fruits such as bananas, mangos and coconuts; unfortunately, they were few and far between, so I savoured each drop of the coconut milk, each tiny morsel of fruit because the next time I was to encounter more nourishment was indefinite. There were unfamiliar plants in my path, but I dared not eat them. On appearance, they looked perfectly edible, but my gut instinct told me not to touch them for the slight chance that they may be poisonous.

Luckily, I was yet to stumble upon any true danger. My ears picked up a few rustles coming from within the foliage, but, whatever the source, they had not attempted to harm me. If it was necessary for me to run from whatever it was, I'd have surely died. My inability to run caused by fatigue combined with the fact that the walk up to my destination was at an almost unworkable gradient made it physically impossible to move remotely fast. At the pace I was going, snails could have outrun me. Also, I had seriously misjudged the time of nightfall. Not even halfway and it was already pitch black. I soldiered on despite my lack of sight. If I was to run, the possibility that I would stumble was very high, making me easy prey for the hunter.

I knew I was close to the camp now. The light from the fire grew brighter with each step I took. With each step I took, the anticipation to reach the top of the hill drove me mad – the path seemed to be getting longer and longer, even though I knew that was not logical. I could hear voices; men's by the sound of it. I couldn't decipher what they were talking about, nor could I hear any coherent words spoken, but the sound of civilization in general was bliss.

Reaching the top of the hill sent a wave of pride throughout me. I felt as if I had accomplished something, even if it was a small feat. There was a dirt road separating me from the camp. The camp was in sight! I could practically smell my salvaging and it was oh-so close. Without a moment more, I hurried my pace slightly to cross the road.

Then, time seemed to stand still. I froze. For a reason beyond me, my entrance into the camp seemed to trigger something barbaric and defensive within the mindsets of the campmates. After a moment of alarmed cries from the campmates, they were all stood up, facing me with weapons all aiming at my head. My stomach dropped completely, my throat closed entirely so even if I was to attempt to reason with them – though attempts were most likely to be futile – anything that would pass my lips would be pathetic squeaks and disjointed English. My body had stiffened, so everything my father had told me about fight or flight had proven useless at this moment in time. Seeing as 'fight' was out of the question (being enormously outgunned), to flee was my only option. I would have, except my own body disallowed it.

The entirety of the camp had gone completely silent. There was a moment where I came up with the foolish notion that the world had really stood still – or that's what it seemed like, at least. The silence was unnerving and it felt like hours had passed without me moving a single muscle. I was just simply waiting for them to make the first move. However, if I didn't act fast and be the one to make the first move, death was almost certain; death doesn't hesitate to act.

Out of some misplaced sense of reconciliation, I raised my hands to my chest – as if that would protect me. It was more to send the signal that I meant no harm rather than for protection. They didn't take heed; instead I heard the cocking of their guns. This urged me to take a step back, though only minute.

After the cocking of the guns, I heard a voice. It was nothing lucid, merely a grumble, but a voice nonetheless. I heard the shuffling of feet, and then the source of the grumble emerged from within the cluster of armed men. Certain deductions lead me to believe that this one man out of the horde of others was the leader of the pack. Of course, he was adorned in getup similar to the rest – combat boots and trousers with some red coloured garment – but he had control. After a gesture with his arm, all weapons were lowered. They respected him; that was evident.

He was squinting at me, trying to make me out in the dark, but he never once took his eyes off me since he came into view. His men were still stood alert, still ready to shoot me at the click of his fingers, so I dared not attempt to escape yet. Slowly, but surely, he was approaching. After taking the final bite of his banana I hadn't noticed he held in his hand, he threw the skin into the fire, still refusing to take his eyes off me, or even blink. I continued to stare back, frightened for my life. He seemed to walk with somewhat of a strut, a perfect cadence, aiming to intimidate.

"Yoo-hoo," he taunted, slowly. "Come out to play."

I remained silent. Our staring contest ended when he got to within a metre of me; I turned my face away from him, the pressure of his glare becoming too heavy. I desperately wanted to explain my situation, to ask for help, but I had a feeling he wouldn't comply, nor care.

He looked my body up and down, analysing every aspect of me. "You lost, senora?" He questioned as he began to circle, like a shark would circle its prey. He brought his face close to my hair, making me flinch and edge away from him slightly. I heard him laugh through his nose at my reaction.

"I, uh-I –" I stuttered uncontrollably, trying to find the right words to say, if there were any.

"Cat got your tongue? Huh?" I saw his hand reach out to caress my face, but before he as much as grazed me, out of reflex I slapped his arm away as hard as I could. He grinned at my chagrin. "Wow, you feisty, you."

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked with a hint of annoyance in my tone. I crossed my arms as I tried my best to look intimidating to some extent; I was in no mood to be trifled with.

"I think I should be the one asking those questions, no?"

"Look, I came here searching for help," I sighed, finally finding my words.

Before I could continue and explain my situation, the alpha male turned towards his pack, a twisted smirk curling at his lips as he did so. I grimaced and shut my eyes. I was hoping I'd wake up soon; I'd wake up far, far away from this place and I'd be back on The Endurance with my shipmates. "She's looking for help, amigos. The little senorita wants _our_ help and I want you _all_ to oblige her." His men chuckled quietly, their expressions all matching the sinister one of their leader, who had now turned back around to stare me down.

"Please, please," I whimpered, "I didn't mean to intrude – I didn't-"

He clicked his fingers before pointing in my direction and saying more sternly this time, "Oblige her." The savage men all began moving at once. My survival instincts finally kicked in and it forced me to pick up my feet and begin sprinting. I didn't even take two steps before the fast reacting leader wrapped his arm around my waist to stop me from running further – I let out a yelp. "Shh, shh, shh," he hushed as his arm snaked tighter around me. "I thought you wanted our help. This is the thanks we get, no?"

He turned me around to face him. In my cowering demeanour, I still attempted to fight back, to escape from his clutches. I was angry and deep down, brave, even if it wasn't showing on the outside. I struggled and wriggled, flailing my arms to hit him which proved difficult considering the hold he had me in gave me limited arm movement. Tiring myself out, I whispered losing my breath, "What are you?"

Something interrupted his reply. It seemed the storm had returned, because a mighty thunderclap shook the entire jungle, followed shortly after by a flash of lightening. Like it was some divine intervention it had distracted the attention of the men. I praised the Gods, if they were to exist. During that split second that I had been blessed with, that split second which had caught the brute off guard, I brought my knee up to his groin with one vicious movement. He groaned, freeing me from his grasp to cover his crotch as he hunched over in pain. I had no sympathy.

As quick as that flash of lightning, I fled. Rain had begun to fall, blurring my sight as it pelted my face in huge droplets, but it didn't stop me from running blindly.

"Fuck!" I heard a growl from far behind. "Go get her, you fucks! I want the bitch alive, comprende?!" There was a stampede of men storming after me at his command.

There was no way I could outrun them. Not an entire mob, not in my current state.

"Run, rabbit," the familiar voice sneered. "Run, rabbit! Run, rabbit! Run, rabbit, run!" He continued to yell, his voice continuously rising in volume. It felt like I was going to vomit – if I didn't have an empty stomach, I probably would have. My diaphragm was having trouble moving properly through not being able to respire, my lack of breathing tightening my lungs painfully.

Just as I was about to surrender to the thugs, for the second time today, I took a stumble. For the rain, I had not noticed the sudden drop in the terrain. The slope had also been muddied due to the weather, so this time, my ankle twisted at a painful angle. I screamed as I rolled down through the foliage, covering myself in mud, leaves and heaven knows what else. I was unable to stop myself; the pace I had picked up wouldn't ease until I reached a flat surface. I fell for what felt like an age, rolling and thudding against the grimy hill, until I slid to halt where the terrain had levelled. I spat out the leaves and the gunk that had managed to invade my mouth as I pushed myself up from the dirt. I moaned in pain, hissing as I smoothed over parts of my body that had come into contact with jagged rocks on the fall down.

"You enjoying your trip, hermana," a yell echoed in the distance. I looked up at the top of the hill to see they were all watching from afar, some laughing. Before I could be mocked any longer, I stood up and hopped away as fast as I could, my ankle causing me too much pain to run. I could still hear them jeering and hollering, however. "You better send me a postcard! If I don't get one, I'll find you, you hear me?"

I limped away until his voice was merely an echo within my own mind. His words, his face, his entire persona in general had forever engraved themselves into my memories. I had never met a man who'd affected me as much as he did, in such a short period of time, too. He was like no man, I'd met before. I'd heard stories of such beasts, but never before had I been unlucky enough to encounter one – not until now.


	3. Help, I'm Alive

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_Help, I'm Alive_ is a song by Metric

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** I am humbled by the reviews I had off the last chapter. Thanks to SunsetinVenezia, Mus, angelaaaaa, Treadaway, Marina and i . love . pie . alot, again, on FF . net for reviewing. Also a thank you to those on tumblr who liked, reblogged and sent me some asks. They always make me feel happy, so keep 'em coming.

One of you mentioned that you tend to stick to Vaas romance stories. As a little disclaimer, I will point out now that though there won't be any "romance" per se, there's likely to be a certain tension between Vaas and Lara. I can't really explain it, and not because I don't want to give anything on the plot away, but because I literally can't put into words how I see their relationship. It's not romantic, but it has subtle notions of being almost sexual without being steamy or having any hints of sincere lasciviousness. It was hideously explained, but I hope as you read further into my story, you'll understand what I mean. I never filed it under romance because I find it hard romanticising Vaas. Very hard.

Another review mentioned briefly the fact that it's written in first person. Usually, I prefer third. With third person you're able to get all the true stories, all the real emotions from all the characters because it isn't personal to just one singular person. Then I thought, no. I see Vaas as a very enigmatic character. There's very, very little we know about Vaas as a person or his history – I kind of like it that way. I like him being a mystery because then it leaves so much more to the imagination for the audience to interpret.

I've rambled on for way too long. On with the show.

**Chapter 3: Help, I'm Alive**

During the second storm I had found shelter within a damp cave in the wilderness. Venturing on and searching for a safer, more suitable refuge was out of the question. I settled for what my physical limits would allow and also it was dire I protect myself from vicious thunderstorm as soon as possible. I made sure to scout within the cave before settling for the night; however, I still kept my guard up even when finding it deserted. The thunder was loud enough to awake me every so often and each time, I would quickly scan my surroundings for intruders, finding none. If the thunder didn't wake me, I'd wake myself with nightmares about that terrifying stranger.

It had to be the worst night's sleep I had ever had. Sleeping on the cold, hard, uneven ground was something I was not accustomed to, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. At the break of dawn, I was up, not wanting to spend a second longer in the dank cave. I desperately needed to find some food and water, then with any luck, my friends.

I exited the cave thankful that the sky had completely cleared up and the sun was beaming down upon the beautiful, blue ocean. Despite being miserably stranded on the island, you'd have to be blind or stupid not to appreciate the picturesque landscape of the location. The sight was breathtaking and I would have loved nothing more than to sit and watch the waves, but it was not to be. I had to move fast for I couldn't risk staying in one place for too long.

Finding a narrow dirt path near the entrance of the cave, I decided to follow that in hopes that I'd find a spring or a stream from which I could drink the water. I had to walk slowly and vigilant for two reasons. The main reason being that my ankle was still injured from my fall so I couldn't put too much pressure on it else it would never heal. I knew for a fact that it wasn't broken; I knew a broken bone from past experience. It was merely sprained, but painful nonetheless. The other reason was that I didn't want to make too much noise. Not only would it attract the attention of unwanted wildlife and from those savages, but I wouldn't be able to hear them coming in time to hide.

Whilst walking along the trail, I could hear a faint trickle of water in the distance. I strayed from the path to cut through some foliage and tall trees, whilst remaining in stealth mode, wary that someone might be waiting at the water source. The jungle seemed unnaturally quiet. The sound of the running water sounded soothing, admittedly, but other than that it was still. It was unnerving to say the least. During my short time in the jungle I'd learnt not to make assumptions. It was unwise and naive of me to have ideas of what to expect next in my journey; whatever assumption I had in my head would not be met. Assumptions either filled me with false hope or it made me doubt myself; filling my mind with paranoia, when really I should be taking risks, ignoring the doubt. I had to let the chips fall where they may.

Cautiously I pushed away branches to peek through the shrubbery. There was a shallow stream running through the trees. My small oasis within the vast land; I had found hope finally. Still fully aware of my surroundings, I crept lightly to the running stream and checked left, then right. The coast was clear and by the looks of it, so was the water. Dipping my hands into the coolness of the water, I cupped the liquid with irrepressible eagerness and brought it to my dry lips. The cold sensation of the water and the delightful movement of the water as it trickled past my lips along my tongue and down my throat was simply rapture itself. My eyes almost rolled back into my head amidst the glorious bliss. With more anticipation I emerged my hands in the water again and again drinking each drop as if it could be my last.

I stopped, my mouth agape waiting for the next drop of water, when I looked up for only a brief second. In the distance, on the opposite side of the stream, I spotted a deer. It was gazing at me as I drank. Its ear twitched every now and then, but that was its only movement. It stood completely still otherwise. For what reason, I did not know. Maybe it was frightened, curious. I felt as if I couldn't take my eyes away, something had mesmerised me.

This hypnotic state ended when a gunshot echoed throughout the jungle and the deer collapsed shortly after. I quickly shuffled backwards in shock and scrambled to find something to hide behind. I cowered behind a boulder, every so often peeking over the top to see if the hunter came into view. Once again I was reminded how easily life could be ripped away from someone. It was never easy to take in.

I heard footsteps approaching – running footsteps, but only one set by the sounds of it. They were also light which led me to believe that these did not belong to a man. My deductions were correct when I spotted the figure emerging from the trees.

"Sam?" I called standing up right from my position behind the boulder. The woman's head turned as she approached the carcass of the deer.

She squinted as her eyes caught sight of me. Without holding back I crossed the stream to meet with her upfront. I couldn't withhold my glee to see her, to finally discover that there were survivors other than myself.

"Lara?" Sam called back with delight in her tone. "Is it really you?"

"It is I," I clarified. "I can't believe that you're alright. I thought that after what happened-"

"Look, listen. We need to stop thinking about what happened. What happened is done; there's nothing we can change. What's here and now; _that_ is what we should be worrying about," she explained with her hand grasping my shoulder reassuringly. We stared at each other silently for a moment before Sam sighed and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're okay, the others will be, too."

"The others? Who else survived?"

"Roth managed to gather some of us before the boat completely sank. He tried to save all of us, but there's only so much one man can do. Only a mere handful of us managed to equip ourselves with a lift jacket before The Endurance was completely destroyed. After Roth saw you slip from his grasp, he was devastated. He was so certain that he had lost you, but I knew better. I knew how strong you were and somewhere deep down I sensed that you were still out there."

Sam was always the bright optimist. I had known Sam for a very long time and ever since I had known her, her charismatic sense of optimism was an inspiration to all, including myself, even in a situation such as we were. She may have been small in size and had the appearance of an innocent, little girl, but there was more to her than meets the eye. Within she was a strong woman, she'd never let anyone change her mind and she always put others before herself. Her way of thought was an aspiration.

"So, who did Roth manage to save?"

"There's Natasha, Chris, Seb, Patrick, myself and Ste –" She cut her sentence short when hurt filled her eyes. She looked down, stuttering to herself.

"Sam, what's wrong? Who else did Roth save?" I questioned with concern.

Tears began to brim at her eyes and with her voice cracking, she replied, "its Steph."

"What do you mean? Is she alright?"

"I'm not sure."

I swallowed hard not entirely sure if I wanted to know what happened to her. It must have been terrible to have Sam react this way after simply mentioning her name. I remained silent, but stared at Sam as if to urge her to continue with her story.

"Some men, they took Steph. We don't know where they took her or what they wanted from us. We all managed to escape, except Steph. When we were running, we all thought that Steph was right with us, that she wasn't too far behind. But when we stopped and she wasn't to be found – that was the worst guilt I have ever had to carry over me. I still carry it and it won't go until I know for sure that she is alright. If I had known that she had been taken, I wouldn't have continued running. I would have tried to – I don't know – I would have tried something. Anything."

"Oh, Sam. You can't let this get to you, not now. You have to think about yourself once in a while. You're main priority is to survive this, to get through it alive."

"How can you say that, Lara? In times like this we should be looking out for each other, not being selfish and only looking out for ourselves. There's strength in numbers and as long as we all look out for each other we can all get through this alive and together. Steph is the prime example; look what happened when no-one looked out for her, when she was left alone. She could be dead because of our ignorance and selfishness."

I hadn't wanted to upset Sam or provoke her in anyway. I knew that she was a team player where as I was more independent. I liked to think I had the ability to look out for myself, but deep down, I knew Sam was somewhat right. I didn't want to confess to Sam that I thought searching for Steph was a fool's errand. The chance that she was still alive was very slim and even if we were to go on that small chance and attempt to rescue her, there was an even smaller chance that any of us would survive at all. If whoever captured Steph were anything like the men that I encountered last night, then I pity her.

"I'm sorry, Sam," was all I could verbalise. Her expression softened, instantly looking slightly guilty for having snapped at me.

"No, Lara, I'm sorry. My whining is probably something you don't want to deal with right now. We have far more on our plate and I should be making sure you're okay rather than lecturing you. Anyway, maybe I should reunite you with the rest of the group. They've made camp not too far away from here. They'll be-" Sam was cut off when a man grabbed her from behind. I didn't see him coming as he was hidden within the foliage. Fear struck me when I recognised him as one of the men from the camp I had intruded upon. Despite my fear, I had to do something to help Sam. "Get off me!"

"Hey! Let her go!" I yelled as I lunged to push the man off of her. Before I got too close, the attacker pulled out a knife and quickly held it to Sam's throat; I instantly stopped. My bravery almost cost Sam her life, now I was at a loss at what to do.

I was about to make a compromise with the man in order to let her go, but Sam interrupted me before I could. "Lara, look out!"

I wasn't quick enough to turn around before another man had me in his snare. "Get the hell off me!" I screamed as I struggled to escape his grip. With my arm loose I managed to bring my elbow up to his chest knocking the air out of him. I squirmed out of his grip, but as quickly as I had done it, the brute had knocked me out cold when his gun collided with my face.

The whole world seemed to be spinning, blurred like a dream. I collapsed when it all became too dizzying. The last thing I remember was the sound of Sam's screams.


	4. Paradise Lost

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **John Milton's _Paradise Lost_

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Shoutout to Zebzeb, SunsetinVenezia, zoeythara and Acid Rain2345 on FF . net for reviewing. I will try to make my chapters longer. I'm not sure if you've noticed but the word count on each chapter has been getting longer progressively. It was unintentional. When I write, I want to write more in each chapter, but I come to a point where I think 'this seems like a good place to end it for cliff hanger purposes'. Ugh, I'm so evil. I'll try to stop my evil ways.

I'm hoping Vaas will appear again pretty soon. He should do, hopefully. If not the next chapter, then the chapter after that.

**Chapter 4: Paradise Lost**

"I've had it with this heat!"

I was awoken with a jolt and the yelling of an unidentifiable man. Suddenly I noticed where I was and realised what I was doing there. After being knocked out by one of the savages I was now over the shoulder of that said savage, like a lifeless doll, an object. My legs lay limp down his front while my face rested against his disgustingly sweaty back. Uncomfortably he would readjust my position by jerking his shoulder which would knock the wind out of me – I didn't make a noise, however. I don't think he realised that I had awoken after possibly suffering a minor concussion from the blow of his gun.

"I've had it with your whining like a bitch," remarked another voice. "You're more of a pussy than this one here."

"Shut the fuck up, man. You don't have to carry yours, like I do. You're the pussy here!"

"You're the one that knocked her out!"

The bickering continued between the two, fully grown men and it was difficult to drown it out. It was intolerable; they referred to me as if I was not human, as if I was just an item. I couldn't see the man behind me, but I knew for a fact that he was the one who had hold of Sam. Through the constant, immature insults passed from guy to guy, I could hear the faint but definite whimper coming from Sam. I could tell she was trying to stifle it, but her attempts were failing miserably.

My chances of escaping this sticky situation looked pretty abysmal from my perspective. I couldn't help but think that I was the one responsible for getting both Sam and I in this predicament. Sam would be back with the others if I hadn't have interrupted her. As abysmal as my chances might have been, I wasn't just going to sit back and let this all happen; to let them get away with it so easily. No, if they were to get away with this, it wasn't going to be willingly on my part.

There was no other option I could have chosen to get out of this vicelike grip. I had chosen the option which I had become all too familiar with when in a situation of the likes. The banter of the men came to an immediate halt when the steel toe of my boot rammed into my captor's groin. He groaned in pain as he collapsed to his knees with me toppling to the ground in the process. Before the other, unharmed captor even had a chance to turn around in alarm, off I dashed from the dirt road and into the trees, figuring it'd be easier for me to get away.

"You let her get away, you idiot!" Meanwhile the _idiot _writhed upon the ground moaning in pain.

Amidst the yelling and the writhing, I heard Sam calling after me. "Run, Lara, run!" It reminded me of that man; that man who had tormented me for only a short period of time. Though Sam's tone and intentions were entirely different to that of which that villain had used, it sent a wave of fear through me at the remembrance. It also made me realise that I was constantly running away from my problems. Now more than ever I had to face them; for Sam's sake, I had to at least try to help her. My heart felt like it was in the right place, but my brain wouldn't allow it. It told me to keep running. Even though I knew that the more I cowered away from them, the more inevitable it was to encounter them again and again. My own state of mind doubted my ability to face these obstacles, so I ran away from them; something I knew I was good at.

I was too indulged in my own guilt for having left Sam with those men to even acknowledge that I had ran onto an open dirt road. I didn't even acknowledge the oncoming vehicle approaching at a rapid pace. It wasn't until I heard tyres screeching when I saw my life flash before my eyes. Bearing witness to something that had so much control over my life – which endangered it like it did – put me into a paralytic state of shock. Just as it did when I had encountered that man; once again my mind had flickered back to him.

Rather than dive out the way of the fast approaching vehicle, I merely stared at it. I can't explain my thought process further because it wasn't too long before the vehicle had knocked me to the ground. Thankfully, the driver had managed brake in time for the vehicle to have come to a speed that wasn't powerful enough to leave a fatal impact. That being said, the impact of a moving vehicle is still a heavy impact nonetheless. My weight compared to that of a car is laughable and I'd have to be superhuman to withstand the collision.

As soon as the car had come to a complete stop, two men had exited the car and were rushing to my sides. I clutched the left side of my ribcage, attempting to ease the pain, but it only made it worse.

"Oh my, God. Are you okay?" I stared at the man looking down upon me in a dumbfounded manner. This stranger wasn't like the other strangers I had encountered within the jungle; he treated me like a human, with compassion. I couldn't even reply with being that relieved and surprised. "I didn't see you coming. Here, let me help you up." The stranger held out his hand and picked me up from off the ground, all the while I still held my side. "You are hurt. We will take you back to Amanaki to help you."

"Where? Amanaki?" I questioned utterly confused by these strangers' intentions.

"Oh," he exclaimed. "I did not realise you were not a native of this land. Please, accept my apologies. You're British, from the sounds of it. It doesn't matter, you must still come with us; as long as you're not one of those pirates; they are scum."

Still unable to fully comprehend what had just happened and what was currently happening, I found it difficult to respond in a suitable approach. "What is going on," was all I could ask.

"Come quickly. There is much to tell and I think I hear pirates coming," he explained as he helped me hobble over to the back of the vehicle. Though I was uncertain of these strangers' intent I willingly entered the car as long as I was safe from those said pirates. The driver remained silent as he sped away, swerving along the dirt road. The one who had been talking to me previously turned around in the shotgun seat to continue talking to me. "First of all, welcome to Rook Islands. Though I'm sure the jungle hasn't made you feel at all welcome, we the natives of this here land do."

"Rook Islands? I've never heard of such a place and never before have I been to such a place that made me feel as unwelcome as it has."

"For that, we are sorry, but it is not our fault. This place used to be a beautiful, tropical paradise – and it will be again when those pirates are taken care of."

"Who are these pirates? What do they want?" By now, I had assumed the pirates were those men who had attempted to take me captive, but their motives were still unclear to me as was the allowance of their existence on this island.

"The northern land of Rook Islands is dangerously overpopulated by savage pirates who have invaded and inhabited our land for longer than I care to remember. They outnumber our people greatly; our people, who they have killed, robbed and raped. We still won't allow our land to be taken so easily," he explained, finishing with determination evident in his tone.

Many things continued to confuse me still. The complexity of the situation was difficult to grasp. "I don't understand, I'm sorry. Why are they doing this?"

"We're still not sure. Why do pirates do anything? The obvious answer is money, to terrorise the innocent and simply because they enjoy it. If there is a reason further than that, then we are unaware of it. All we know is that they need to be stopped."

What had I gotten myself into? I had stumbled directly into an island thriving on unfathomable turmoil and I may never find a way out. My dilemma was worse than I ever could have imagined. I was somewhat relieved that I had finally found humane civilisation, but to say that they were a godsend would be a lie. I was under the impression that even these natives of the so called Rook Islands were just as helpless as I was. If my predicament wasn't enough to prove that to keep order in any said society, it needed rules governed. Without rules, that society is bound to spiral into an utter wasteland functioning as a dog-eat-dog world where the strongest would kill off the weakest. It's for that reason that rules are put in place; the majority must realise that they would surely be killed if there was not some sort of order within their society, therefore an anarchistic society is not necessarily a good thing for them. This island had allowed evil to reign for far too long, now it simply had formed a nihilistic society with no apparent path to redemption.

I was still unsure about these saviours. "Who are you exactly? Is there a reason why you rescued me?" I questioned confused.

"We are the Rakyat; that is all you need know about us. Would you have preferred us to have just left you struggling in pain after we ran you over? We can't allow any more innocents to be slaughtered by those savages. Too many have died already." I decided not to press matters further. Every question I asked seemed to open up ten more and his tone hinted that he was being deliberately vague – not in a malicious way, but it was by no means subtle.

The rest of the drive to the settlement, Amanaki, was spent mostly in silence. My own pondering distracted me from the searing pain in my ribs, which I was reminded of when I attempted to exit the vehicle. Fortunately, the two helpers were by my side again, assisting me into the settlement.

Despite my pain, I took pleasure at the sight before me. There were civilised people residing in this settlement, people who were just living their lives instead of attempting to maim or kill me. There were little shacks, campfires and crops; it was as if I hadn't seen such humane culture before.

As we approached the heart of the settlement, I was greeted – using the term loosely – by an assumed inhabitant of Amanaki. "What are you two doing? Who is this woman?"

"We had to help her. She's hurt," the talkative one explained.

"And you trust her?"

"This woman means no danger to us. She's an outsider, but she is neither one of Hoyt's or Vaas'. We were driving and we accidentally hit her; we did not see her coming."

The greeter still looked at me sceptically, but it softened slightly after the recognition of my pain. "I am sorry, outsider, but I am sure you can understand my reasons for being defensive."

"I understand completely," I reassured with a sigh of pain.

"I will take care of her from here." He took hold of me and led me towards a rusty looking shack.

Inside I was laid upon a makeshift bed of sorts. "Do not be afraid. Fear is what most likely caused your injury, yes?"

I couldn't lie, he was correct. If I hadn't been so caught up in my fear, I wouldn't have ran out onto that road ultimately leading me to getting hurt. "I suppose that's true, but shouldn't I be given the right to be at least a little wary. After all, you said yourself that you had your reasons for being defensive."

"You are the intruder here, miss; and though my intentions are good, I have more reason to be wary than you. Why else do you think we're helping you?"

"I've been taught not to trust the intentions of many during my short time on this island."

"If it is the pirates you are referring to, I'd like to isolate myself and my people from any association with them and the likes. Yes, it's unfortunate to have crossed paths with them without any knowledge of their existence, but it is unwise to think of the Ratyak the same way you do of those pirates."

The matter was dropped when this stranger placed a hand on my ribcage where I was clutching it. "I am Dennis, by the way," he introduced himself.

"Lara. Lara Croft," I responded politely.

"Breathe in," he ordered. I did so, finding newfound trust in Dennis after our introduction. His hand examined my ribs, applying pressure to certain spots earning a hiss on my part. "Is it safe to assume that you were one of the unfortunate to have sailed on that shipwrecked vessel?"

I nodded, not wanting to remember the traumatic event.

"I am sorry for your misfortune."

"What's done is done. A friend had recently told me not invest too much thought into the past," I confessed. I shut my eyes tightly, remembering that Sam was still with those vile creatures.

"Wise words, I have to agree. You must let go of your past or it will forever blind you. Your heart wants to live in the present, so let it."

I blinked back tears threatening to fall. Memories were a collection of wicked beasts. Oblivious to their cruelty, you can be amidst harmless pastimes in the sanctity of your own mind, and then they can lead you somewhere you don't want to be; leading you somewhere which you thought you'd had forgotten, or wished you had. It was difficult to let go of the past when your own subconscious allowed memories to resurface. I had always been taught that repression led to an unhealthy state of mind, almost dangerous. Now that I had entered Rook Islands, I was being taught otherwise.

"Dennis?" I called with my voice cracking. Dennis, noticing my tone, looked away from my ribcage to glance upon my face. Noticing my saddened expression, his face softened. "Have you happened to come across any other survivors from that shipwreck?"

"No, Lara. I trust you have come to terms with the possibility that there may not be any more survivors."

"Not exactly 'come to terms with', but rather considered the possibility. I still have hope, but it dwindles with each passing second. I did find a friend and she told me that only a few had managed to survive. But considering what happened to her, I'm not so sure of their safety. That I know of, there are two of my friends in the hands of those pirates and I can't bear to think what's happened to either of them."

"Unfortunately, you know as much as I do on that matter. I do not care to find out. If you're thinking about finding out, you're certainly in no condition to. For now, you must rest. It's getting dark and you may already know that it isn't smart to go out into the wilderness during this time of the day. As for your state, I don't think any of your ribs are broken, or even cracked. Possibly bruised, however, not severe. It may cause a lot of pain to begin with but it should ease with time. For now, bandaging up your ribcage may be a good idea, to stop you from contorting your body into a painful position."

With a little hesitation I raised the vest I was wearing slightly to allow access to my ribcage. To distract me from the awkward tension, Dennis spoke first. "So, I assume you have questions?"

"Many. Maybe you can start by telling me about the Rakyat?"

"There isn't much you need to know. The Rakyat are the natives of this land having lived here for countless years. Over those countless years, the Rakyat have had to endure constant turmoil and slavery due to years of neglect. The Rook Islands haven't progressed for the better despite its past issues as you can tell. Inhabitants just want to get on with their life without having to constantly battle for their freedom from subjugation. To fight for that freedom, a war of sorts has broken out amongst the Rakyat and the pirates. As determined as the Rakyat are, the horizon does not look good for us."

Once he had finished bandaging me up, Dennis stood up straight and gently pushed me back down when I tried to do the same. "No, Lara. You must rest here. I understand that you are eager to find your friends, but now is not the time. In the morning, when the sun has risen and you are fully energised, I will allow you to leave. I have no control over you; I just hope my words alone are enough to persuade you to stay. When you awake I will be willing to help you further to the best of my abilities, even if I do believe that searching for your friends is a fool's errand."

Not even being able to find the energy to disagree, I merely nodded in reply. Dennis in return nodded and soon after, left the room. Thankfully, I wasn't left alone with my own thoughts for too long since I was out like a light as soon as my heavy eyelids closed.


	5. Out the Frying Pan, into the Fire

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES:**

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thank you Acid Rain2345 and SunsetinVenezia for the reviews on FF . net. Your kind words are an inspiration, as are the notes I get on Tumblr. Many more are welcome, however.

When I write my chapters, I write them with Chillstep Mixes playing the background. It is one of the most relaxing things ever – it's also snowing outside at the moment; it's absolute bliss, I think I may fall asleep while trying to write this.

_Guess who's back? Back again. Vaas is back. Tell a friend. Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, etc._ By that I mean Vaas is in this chapter.

**Chapter 5: Out the Frying Pan, into the Fire**

When I awoke the next morning, I woke with a high abundance of vigour. The good night's sleep had done me well both mentally and physically; I felt confident enough to go back out into the wilderness to continue my search for the survivors and my injuries had seemed to heal quick enough not to become such a hindrance in that search.

As I stepped out of the dimness of the shack and into the daylight, I eyed Dennis making his way over to me from across the settlement.

"Ah, Lara! You weren't thinking of leaving so early, were you? Can I persuade you to stay for just a moment longer? I'd like to talk to you before you set out on your journey." In his hand, he held a plate of food. Fruit, vegetables, rice and some sort of meat filled the plate, and though only a plate full, it looked like a banquet to me. I was suddenly reminded how hungry I was and if that plate of food was for me, then how could I deny staying a moment longer.

"Actually, I was just about to look for you. I wanted to thank you for your hospitality," I retorted gratefully.

When he reached me, he generously handed out the plate of food for me to take. "I do not expect to be repaid for my hospitality, even with thanks. Just remember that you should not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. Hospitality is the creation of a stranger becoming a friend instead of a foe and in these times, being as bleak as they are; it brings out the hospitality in all of us,"

"Now, if only for a moment, let's return to your refuge. I have something to show you," Dennis finished as he led me back inside.

Manners being thrown aside now, I ravaged the food that I had been blessed with, enjoying every morsel. With a mouthful I asked, "What was it you wanted to show me?"

On the same table my food had been laid upon, Dennis pulled out a folded up piece of paper. He opened it up and smoothed it out upon the table. It appeared to be some makeshift map. "I am no professional cartographer so I apologise if the map is almost unreadable. Unfortunately, if you require a better one, you'll need to pay for it at the general store. Times are hard, I'm sorry. How able are you when reading a map?"

"After many years in preparation for exploring and adventure, I am pretty confident I will be able to make sense of your map. Once again, I thank you for taking the time to do this for me."

"You may not want to thank me. Obviously, this is just a rough sketch, there may be a lot I have missed out or misinformed, either accidentally or I am merely not aware of certain information. Also, the information held in this map may not be so beneficial. I don't need to tell you the dangers that lurk in the jungle,"

"On this map, I have marked the main settlements of the Rakyat. These should be your safe havens. Though don't get too comfortable; pirates can attack when you least expect it. Speaking of which, I have also marked where the pirates camp, or at least a small radius of where that camp may be. To track your missing friend down, it may help to know that this point here is where the shipwreck is found. If you retrace your steps you might be able to find a lead."

I feared it wasn't going to be that easy. When Sam and I were held captive, I had been unconscious for most of that time. During that time, our captors could have ventured in many directions and taken Sam to any given camp. I knew whereabouts I had managed to escape the pirates for the second time, but only roughly. Having said that, there were still multiple camps which they could have taken Sam to. I explained my situation to Dennis and responded with only a strange expression. "What is it?" I wondered out loud.

"I wasn't aware that you had come into contact with these pirates previously."

"Twice, actually – the last of which was how I managed to collide with one of the Ratyak's. It was also wh-when I... when I lost Sam." I feared for her. For both Sam and Steph, in fact.

"What about the first?"

"The first encounter I was unlucky enough to stumble upon on my first night. I was in search for help, at the time blissfully unaware of such pirates roaming the jungle. When I had found this camp I honestly thought I had found my way off this island. But I was wrong; so very wrong. All of them turned on me. Like a pack of wolves they all eyed me as their prey and like some deer caught in the headlights I just stared at them, paralysed. But then another intervened, told them to lower their weapons – for what reason, I am unsure. He dressed like them, looked like them, but for some reason he differed from the rest. Albeit just a pirate, his persona was...different; like he wasn't just a mindless zombie. He knew exactly what he was doing and had total control over me and over the other men. He was a terrifying figure; I hadn't wanted to ever repeat that story again for that reason alone. It was dark at the time so I don't remember much of his appearance, but his voice still haunts me."

Even more dumbfounded Dennis questioned further. "This is very curious. It may seem a stupid question, but what exactly did this man sound like? Did he speak with a Hispanic dialect?"

"Um, yes – may I ask as to why you are so curious?"

"Did he have a prominent facial scar? A Mohawk?" He questioned quickly.

"I – I don't remember. It was dark and I couldn't bear looking at him. I still don't understand as to why you're curious."

"If it's who I think it is, then I can't tell if you're incredibly lucky or brave."

"I don't take well to those who are deliberately cryptic simply for the sake of being cryptic. First of all, who do you think I am referring to? Secondly, I see my meeting with this man being neither a lucky encounter, nor a brave one; Quite the opposite, actually."

"I am sorry, Lara. Forgive me if I am wrong, but your vague description meets the criteria that matches that of Vaas'; the leader of the pirates on the northern island. It goes without saying that the fact that you managed to stumble upon that camp of all camps was unlucky, but the fact that you managed to escape from him is a lucky feat. Few manage to escape him, most end up dead," he elucidated finally.

If this was to be true, then previously I had not justly seen or appreciated how fortunate I really was when I had managed to escape. Now I did, very much so; however, the thought that either Sam or Steph were now in the hands of that man tainted my mind. There was always the chance that they weren't, but the notion that they may shouldn't be overlooked. If per chance they had managed to fall into his clutches, how was I to rescue them now?

"Lara? Is everything okay?" Dennis questioned, concerned about the sudden silence.

"Oh, yes. I suppose."

"I can tell from you expression that you're contemplating the wellbeing of your lost friends. I'm sure nothing I say will persuade you to do what you don't want to, but if I were in your place, I wouldn't attempt a heroic rescue. People die every day; there's a high chance that your rescue will be for nothing when you find your friends dead, getting yourself into further trouble – like searching for fool's gold."

My mind was torn. As much as I wanted to agree with Dennis, something in me wouldn't allow it. My survival instincts told me that to leave my friends behind, to forget about them, that's what I should do. Those instincts were at war with what I knew was right in my heart. I truly did want to save my friends, but fear scared righteousness away. On one hand, Dennis had told me to look out for myself and myself alone. On the other, Sam convinced me to believe that there was strength in numbers and if we didn't look out for each other, none of us would survive.

"I have to try, Dennis," was all I could muster.

He sighed, knowing he hadn't the ability to persuade me to think otherwise. He folded up the map and held out his hand for me to take it. "I hope this proves useful to you either way. Before you leave, there's one last thing I want to show you."

He led me back outside and assisted me on the walk to the general store. The place, obviously, was nothing special; with times being as they were, there weren't efficient resources for improvement. Nevertheless, it most likely sufficed for the inhabitants of Amanaki. Inside, Dennis walked over to the counter and was handed some items from the shopkeeper. It was a bow along with a quiver full of arrows.

"I want you to take these with you," Dennis stated.

Normally, I would turn down such generous offers, mostly out of modesty. Seeing as how times weren't as usual, this offer seemed a necessity to accept. I was obligated to take this weapon from him. "Are you sure?" I asked even so. "You have already been so generous to me. Though, I do deem it essential that I stay protected whilst in the wilderness."

"Exactly. If I was to allow you to walk out of here, defenceless without any weapon equipped, it'd be as if I was throwing you out of the frying pan, into the fire. Now, given you accept my offer, how adept are you with a bow?"

"Oh, very much so. The very touch brings back memories," I answered as I stretched the bowstring. Though the bow was nothing special – in fact, it was merely a do-it-yourself bow by my observation – it still seemed sturdy enough to fire a decent shot. I hope I wasn't rusty. "Archery was my forte when it came to athletics. My father would help me practice for hours on end when I was just a child."

"Did you ever go hunting?"

"I _did_ go hunting, but I never used a bow to hunt. I'd use a hunting rifle. Father would call me a sharpshooter, said I was a natural deadeye."

"Unfortunately, though your past experience may prove of some use, nothing will be able to prepare you for the time you will have to take a person's life. Believe me, that time will come. When it does you mustn't hesitate. These men can't be reasoned with; they'd much rather bludgeon you, mar you, lacerate you and then throw you aside to lick at your wounds than to hear your compromise. To put it simply, it's either kill or be killed." He had spoken with such profound certainty that even if I had wanted to argue his point, I wouldn't have been able to compare. I figured he had had far more experience than I with these pirates, so I took his word willingly. From what I had experienced with these pirates, I couldn't agree more with Dennis' words.

Despite agreeing entirely with what Dennis had said, that was not to say that it'd be easy for me to take their life. Killing is immoral either way, surely. Even if these men had committed the sinful, bestial acts that should have rightfully stripped them of the privilege of being referred to as a man – more beast-like than anything – they were still humans. Taking their lives wasn't going to be an easy feat. Ghandi had once said an eye for an eye would make the whole world blind, after all. Would I be no better than them if I was to murder?

I'd never imagine killing anyone. To allow someone to die an unnatural death, at your hands, is to play God. To have so much control over a person's life came with a giant amount of responsibility; an amount only a deity should ever have to be burdened with. Humanity can be defined as a collective term for humankind; the human race – another definition of humanity is the quality of being humane; benevolence. Both definitions are true. So, could you argue that if you were to kill, to commit any act of cruelty for that matter, that we are not human? It's debateable and though you may consider it a silly debate, would you not agree that to be human it requires more than appearance – more than just flesh and bone?

After the goodbyes and good lucks shared between Dennis and me as I left Amanaki, my journey truly began. Even if was only slightly more prepared than I was when I first arrived on this island, I still had far more drive and direction to aid me. I planned on returning to the ship that had started all of this. There was a chance that Roth might have been equipped with his radio transceiver. There was an inkling of hope that led me to believe that I may find an abandoned transceiver that still worked. This was my only option that allowed me to get in contact with the remaining survivors – that's to say that they survived still.

By the time I reached the coast which the Endurance had crashed upon, it must have been midday. The sun seemed to be directly above me. I was the ant and the sun was the magnifying glass. A lot of junk had been washed up upon the shore, most of it coming from the shipwreck; bags, clothes, furniture. Finding a small backpack, I used that to gather useful equipment. During my scavenging I found a canteen, though at the moment it was filled with salt water and wasn't much use at that moment, it would prove useful later.

I paraded up and down the shore searching for other essentials, the transceiver being my main item of importance. I could hear a buzzing noise. It was like muffled electricity. It had to be one of the transceivers, but for the life of me, I could not see where it was. I followed the noise, however. With my bow and my backpack upon my shoulders I plunged into the shallow depths of the sea to continue my search.

Amidst a cluster of rocks and seaweed, there lay the transceiver. I swam over, eagerly grabbing the device to see if it still worked. It was difficult to tell. On one hand, I could definitely make out a voice, but at the same time it was impossible to hear exactly what they were saying. I swam to the shore and sat propped up against a large boulder. I recognised the voice as Roth's, but whether he could hear mine was a mystery.

I heard the odd word or so, but stringing together a sentence was nigh on impossible.

"Roth? Can you hear me?" I questioned desperately.

"_Ye-Lara-you_," was all I deciphered from his response. At least I understood that he knew it was me.

"Please, if you can hear me, I have to know where you are," I pleaded with my voice breaking from the sudden onset of emotion.

"_We-in a-I'm sorry-tell us-find you._"

I sighed in frustration. I was so close to them, yet so far. "I can't understand you, I'm sorry. I'm at the place of the shipwreck. If you can understand me, the only way I'll be able to find you is if you come for me."

There were more incoherent murmurs to follow what I had said, but there was no use in trying to understand what they were attempting to tell me. I placed the transceiver in my backpack and stood up from my position behind the boulder.

"You know, I think you owe me an apology," a voice called from behind me.

I quickly turned around to see an assembly of pirates. My breath caught in my throat. I can't describe the feeling of this terror. There's a major difference between having a phobia of something and just merely fearing it. Whether you admit it or not there must have been a time in your life where you have encountered a situation which has made you feel frightened, made you fear something. Many can come into contact with a spider and simply get the jitters at that contact; this would insinuate 'fear'. A phobia, on the other hand, it's far worse than merely disliking coming into contact with whatever that phobia may suggest. It's a disorder. It affects the normal functioning of the mind and body, basically disabling you temporarily. This is what I felt when I saw Vaas. It was as if I couldn't move.

"You not even gonna say hello, no, hermana?" He asked as he approached closer. I remained silent. He scratched the back of his neck with the muzzle of his gun. "Not much of a talker, huh? But you know what, it's okay. It's fine. Last time we met I got a little angry, I said a few curse words, you got a little upset and you ran away from me. For that, I'm sorry. I'm not gonna lose it this time. Now, it's your turn. Apologise."

I saw his expression change when I refused to say a word. Though he was trying to contain his frustration I could still see it evidently in his eyes. "Apologise," he repeated a little more sternly this time.

"No," I managed to reply feebly.

He grinned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a snigger. "You're gonna have to repeat that."

I hesitated, but I did so anyway, cutting off my nose to spite my face. "No."

As soon as I had uttered it, he grabbed the back of my head, pulling at the roots of my hair painfully. His other hand clasped my mouth with his finger and thumb pinching my lips. I whimpered at the discomfort, my hands reaching for where he had hold of my hair on impulse. "You know, you should be grateful I'm not making you get on your knees to kiss it better, hermana!"

I tried to struggle out of his grip, but it was physically impossible to do so. Every movement was agony. I attempted clawing at his hand, shoving him away, kicking him, but it was all to no avail. It was when I attempted to knee him in the groin again when he lost his patience. "Hey!" He yelled as he brought his face closer to mine. I immediately stopped moving seeing clearly that I had just kicked a hornet's nest. "Stop fucking-"

I saw his expression soften, reverting back to his pseudo calm and kind demeanour. He laughed it off. His hand clenching my hair loosened, bringing it to my cheek gently. The other hand made its way to my other cheek so that he had a hold of my face on both sides. "Listen, let's just forget about this. Let's play a game. Now that our little game of hide and seek has finished, it's time for another, no? How about we play, uh, tag? You know, like the playground game? Guess what? I'm it."

"No, no, no," I repeated over and over, scared that this time I wasn't going to be lucky enough to escape.

"Shh, shh, shh. You know what? Because I'm feeling so nice today, I'm going to give you a, uh, ten second head start, okay? Is that not fair, hermana?" He released me from his grip and stepped back a few steps. "Now, when I say 'go', you go, yes?" I nodded, knowing I had no other choice but to play his sick games.

"Go."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I sprinted off, past Vaas and past the other pirates. The sand made it difficult to run fast as did the tension that built with every second Vaas counted. He was counting in _Mississippis_. I couldn't fathom why. Everything he did was unpredictable. After he had reached five, however, he cruelly counted the remaining five at a rapid pace. That's when I began to truly panic. I could hear the same stampede of footsteps that I had heard the first night I had met him. I was deliberately running towards the trees so that once I had entered it'd be easier for me to hide from them, but I feared I wouldn't even reach them quick enough before Vaas or one of the other pirates caught me.

I could hear him gaining on me. I assumed it was Vaas, but I couldn't be sure. There was no way I could outrun him; I couldn't compare with his stamina.

Seeing no other way out of this and remembering what I had been equipped with, I quickly spun around to face the oncoming stampede. I took the bow from off my shoulder and drew a bow from the quiver, aiming it specifically at Vaas. All the pirates came to a slow halt, yet it didn't strike fear into them like I had anticipated.

"Now, hermana, this wasn't in the rules," Vaas pointed out as he took slow steps towards me.

"Don't take another step," I ordered but with minimal coercion in my tone.

"What are you gonna do, hermana? Kill me? I know you want to. But I also know you won't."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because you don't have it in you. Now, lower your weapon. Stop embarrassing yourself," he instructed as he continued to take steps towards me. My hands were shaking, my lower lip was trembling, and I didn't have the fortitude to fire the arrow. I lowered it unsteadily and timidly. "You know, this could have been fun. It could have been easy. You could have made it easy. But no, you've ruined the game, I've lost my patience and now...you've entered hell."


	6. Lacrimosa

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_Lacrimosa_ is a piece from Mozart's _Requiem. _[It translates into tearful/mournful/sorrow.]

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thank you Nix, i . love . pie . alot, Acid Rain2345, 23Nelly, maus and zoeythara for the reviews on FF . net. The reviews never fail to inspire.

I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I think I have sleeping sickness or something. I'm just tired constantly...or I'm just lazy. It's probably the latter. I apologise for lazy updating. I like updating at least once a week for I hate to have any readers wait long between each chapter. I had exams to do and just a stressful past few days. Almost missed one of my exams because I thought it was a day later than it was. When I was told I missed it, I was surprised they let me do it two hours later. Alone. In a cold room. With one examiner just staring at me. It was a horrible experience.

**Chapter 6: Lacrimosa**

It was as if my life was currently not my own. After I had been wrestled to the ground to have my hands tied behind my back, every movement that was made after that was against my will. There was no use struggling either. I was completely surrounded by armed pirates who were trigger happy – according to Vaas, that is. Yes, it was safe to say that I had zero control over my own actions at that moment; I was a marionette.

Once tying me up – instead of leading the group, being at the front of the small assemblage – Vaas lingered somewhere behind. I had the notion that he wanted to have me in his sight at all times, in case I attempted to escape again. This, however, was only an assumption. I didn't want to turn around to look at him, possibly out of fear. I was frightened of what it might trigger, how he'd react to a simple twist of my body. It was like walking on eggshells. Though, he hadn't said a word since tying me up.

I don't know what was more unnerving – the silence or having him taunt me, relentlessly. He hadn't even muttered a word to his men. His footsteps mingled with many others around me so it was difficult to judge how far away he was from me. It felt like he was directly behind me, breathing down my neck, the heat radiating from his body caressing my own. Logic told me that this was not to be true, but paranoia and fear had clouded that logical thinking.

It was difficult to assume what time it was once we had finally reached the pirate camp. The jungle was radiant from the sunshine not a moment ago, now it had darkened seemingly abruptly. I looked up to notice that the sky was eerily dark; another storm coming, I believed. I'd be forever astounded at how quickly the weather could change on this island, and at how temperamental it could be. The air was completely still, though, and humid. Hopefully, it'd just be a heavy downpour and not gale force winds to accompany it.

"Amigos, go check on that other senorita. Bring her here," Vaas ordered, causing all the pirates surrounding me to disperse. We were alone.

An arm draped across my shoulders, startling me slightly. "Welcome to my camp, hermana. Make yourself at home, make yourself comfortable. But first, let me show you where you will be staying. What kind of host – and gentleman – would I be if I was to let my lady guests stay out in the rain at night? You don't have to answer that question."

With his arm still draped over me, he gently started ushering me towards a wooden outpost of sorts. There were more pirates to greet me on entering this outpost. I wondered how many in total inhabited this island. This is just one camp. An uncountable amount were scattered throughout this camp alone. How had the Ratyak endured this for so long?

Vaas came to a halt, forcing me to stop, too. He was positioning me to a specific spot within the outpost, for some unknown reason, with so much concentration. Once he was satisfied, he looked me in the eyes as he stood in front of me, and then reached his arms around behind me. His fingers fiddled with the knotted rope attempting to undo it. I couldn't look at him. The distance between us was far too small, to the point that the heat of his breath practically scalded my skin. Any remote physical contact with him made my skin crawl, even if it was as minute as his fingertips brushing against my wrists in a brief, gentle swipe. The more it happened the more my body would tighten. I seemed to be flinching uncontrollably and my breath had become ragged, uneven, only respiring in quick intakes. It was as if I was about to cry, or I was in serious agony.

He still had hold of my wrists even after unfastening the knot. He had untied them just to tie them up again. Bringing my arms upwards, I realised why he had positioned me where he did. Above me was a wooden beam. My hands were tied up to the beam in a tight knot. Whilst doing so, his eyes were no longer upon me. This was my chance to get a good look at him up close.

His face instilled both fear and an odd sense of curiosity within me. Maybe it was that curiosity that instilled the fear; his enigmatic disposition. The fear of the unknown is one of the most common fears, after all. His eyebrow had been lacerated leaving a nasty scar leading into his scalp and into his Mohawk. I'd have to be blind not to be the least bit curious. I noticed his messily shaven scalp was also blemished with smaller, less noticeable scars – each one accompanied with its own gnarly story, no doubt.

His eyes seemed to be sunken or darkened. I couldn't tell if the darkish circles around his eyes were the work of some kind of war paint or if they were just naturally dark. That darkness seemed to emphasise the very subtle green in his brown eyes.

I had been studying him for too long as I didn't even realise he had finished tying my hands and was now staring back at me. As soon as I did realise, my head snapped away.

"No, no, no, look at me," Vaas instructed as he placed his thumb and index finger on my chin to turn my head back around.

I gazed into his eyes, feeling as if it was excruciating to do so, as if something was painfully attempting to roll my eyes in another direction. The sharp inhales returned, making the experience even more agonising. "What do you want?" I whispered with tears at the brim of my eyes.

"Shh, I know you're frightened. Fear has gotten you where you are now, no? I understand that, you understand that. I also understand that you don't understand what is happening around you. But understand this, that if you were to understand then you will understand that it isn't worth understanding." Have you ever had a word repeated to you so often that that word loses all meaning, as does the rest of the conversation? That phenomenon is called semantic satiation. Needless to say that Vaas was as mad as a hatter and I will never _understand_ why he does what he does.

"To put it simply, you're better off not knowing what I want, what you're doing here, what's going to happen to you. It'll just frighten you even more. You'll find out soon, hermana. Trust me. Know that your fate is inevitable – you've escaped death once before, it will not happen again," Vaas hissed into my ear.

We were interrupted when the pirates had returned with their other _senorita. _That other senorita happened to be Sam. She was still alive! Though, the condition she was in made me feel sick to my stomach. Bruises and contusions marred her delicate skin and her attire was dishevelled due to poor living situations.

"Sam," I exclaimed as she came into sight. With a lot of effort she managed to raise her head at my cry, managing to express her gratification of my appearance, though only feebly.

"Lara," Sam croaked in return. Her voice was straining and she had barely uttered a sentence.

"Oh, you two are, uh, acquainted," Vaas interfered as he stepped away from me to take hold of Sam. "This is...This is really touching, senoritas. Seriously, it warms the heart to see two friends reunited at last," he continued as he tied Sam's hands to the same beam I was tied to. "_Lara_, why don't you catch up with your little amigo while I go attend to other...errands?"

The way he said my name; it dripped off his tongue like venom. What's in a name? I hadn't wanted him to discover my name, though you may think it only a meagre piece of information. As small as it may be, a name means everything. This one name represented my identification – now that he had hold of it, I felt as if he somehow had hold of my identity. As if he could easily warp that identity, to mould and obscure it to his desire. Knowing my name also gave us some sort of _attachment_ – for lack of a better word. I use it very carefully; the last thing I wanted was to become attached to this misbegotten beast of a man.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Vaas questioned himself as he quickly spun around on his heel. He disappeared, but for only a second, returning with a cup of water. He approached Sam first.

It was evident that Sam had been deprived of water for a dangerous amount of time. Her weakened physical state and the avid anticipation to have the rim of that cup reach her cracked lips spoke louder than words. Sam's mouth was already agape even before Vaas had brought the cup up to her. A malicious grin curled at his lips, taking pleasure in Sam's unfortunate desperation. I grimaced at his sick fancies. Somehow I could tolerate his cruelty more so when it was dealt to me personally; seeing it being distributed to others – especially those close to me – was even more repugnant to me, vile.

He brought the cup away from her lips, just hovering slightly at her mouth, teasing the idea of blessing her with a few drops more of the water. He was so cruel. He snickered quietly at her trembling lips; it was uncomfortable to observe. "Do you want some more, hermana?"

"Oh, stop it," I spat, turning my head away from the torment.

"What's this, huh? Feeling left out, huh, Lara? You wanna play, too? Huh? You wanna play?" He enquired as he stepped in front of me, forcing his face close to mine. He harshly grabbed my jaw with his free hand and twisted it so that I was looking at him. "I'm tired of your bullshit. This little, tough bitch act isn't cute, Lara. I can see right through it. Got my fucking x-ray goggles on, hermana! Do you wanna know what the funny thing is though? You're not even fooling yourself. Like...why are you even trying? What are you trying to prove?" He continued to make himself laugh, a forced laugh. It was to mock me, obviously.

"Just tell me what you want," I sighed.

"No, Lara. That'll spoil the fun. You know what; I kinda like the tough girl thing you have going on, actually. It's funny. You're a funny girl, hermana. Anyway, now's not the time for fun and games – that comes later. Now, you need to drink. To keep you energised, to keep you strong, like that strong, brave woman, you know you are," he joked to himself.

He brought the cup up to my lips, but I tightened them to form a straight line. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of teasing me, to drink the devil's water. Neither did I want him thinking I was as weak as he made me out to be.

"Okay, the joke's getting old now and I'm starting to lose my patience. Open you're fucking mouth." He yanked my head back by pulling at my hair, eliciting a wail from me, forcing me to open my mouth. The liquid filled my mouth soon after, where I harboured it until his release of my hair. Once he had, I brought my head upright and spat out the water directly into his face. I spat again, releasing both the excess water and some saliva. Not quite the etiquette I had been brought up with, but I had been provoked to resort to such grotesque vices.

My face contorted into a scowl, glaring at him as a pseudo smile appeared on his lips. This man was impossible, he was a monster. He pinched the bridge of his nose, water still dripping from his face. His palm slowly slithered down his face to wipe away the droplets, until it was reasonably dry. He threw the cup viciously out of the outpost as he turned away and then let out a loud yell, "What...the..._fuuuuuck_!?" A few pirates, alarmed at the outburst, turned the heads to eye the commotion, and then returned to what they were doing. His outbursts must have been so common that they didn't even faze his men anymore.

His holler seemed to be echoing throughout the jungle endlessly. There was a moment where Vaas had turned around and I sincerely thought his intentions were to slaughter me there and then – or at least maim me in some way – but he refrained, for some reason. Instead he violently kicked a chair down a flight of stairs, almost hitting the pirate guarding the outpost. He jolted at the shock of this flying object nearly colliding with him.

"Pick that up, motherfucker!" Vaas roared at the clueless pirate. He did so straight away. Despite knowing I had just angered the beast, I was pleasantly satisfied with having done so, even if it almost cost my life. Vaas turned back to me, still infuriated, but less so than previously. "What the fuck is wrong with you, hermana? You fucking loco?! Do you have some fucking death wish or fucking...fucking...fuck this, hermana," he growled as he stormed down the steps, finally. I sighed heavily now that I was rid of him, even if it was for a short while.

"Lara, you're going to get yourself killed," Sam whispered from my side. I had been so indulged in Vaas' temper that I had almost forgotten that Sam was beside me.

"Then kill me he shall, if that may be. If he wanted to kill me, he would have done so already, but he hasn't. There's another reason as to why we're here, Sam. I just haven't figured it out yet. I can't figure _him_ out, but I refuse to willingly go along with whatever he has planned. I care not for his misplaced sense of superiority; his delusions of grandeur! I will not bow for any man and certainly not for a man like him."

"I think you're wrong. He killed Steph. He killed her," Sam wept. "How can anyone...do that? Just kill her like that? She didn't do anything wrong. Everybody was watching, just watching, and letting it all happen. No one would help. No one."

I remained silent, I couldn't speak. The news of Steph hit me harder than I had anticipated. I had considered the possibility that the survivors of the Endurance may be now dead, but even after all that consideration; nothing could ever really prepare me for having it confirmed. Death is death – there's no way of evading the emotions it triggers, no matter how hard you try to conceal them. I hadn't truly and uncontrollably cried since the presumed death of my father. Now, those same relentless tears returned. I snivelled and whimpered at the loss of my friend, a life so young just torn viciously from the world. As if some sort of serendipitous event, rain began to fall from the skies – as if the skies also mourned the bereavement.

"She survived that storm, the shipwreck, the harsh blows of the ocean; she endured all of that. She endured all of that just to die like _this_."

It was a cruel fate in a very cruel world. If you can recall, when I first landed on this island, I had said that I had hit rock bottom. When I said that, I was not lying. I truly had. However, I must confess, I fear, somewhat of a lie within that statement. I had also said that there was nowhere else to go but up. This is not to be true. I had ventured to a place lower than rock bottom. This was hell. I had entered a literal hell.


	7. Dies Irae

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_Dies Irae _is another piece from Mozart's Requiem. [It translates into 'Day of Wrath.]

I feel as if I should reference the music I listen to when writing. Here's a few of the mixes on youtube that I listen to as I write, simply because it's so relaxing to do so.

VA - Chillstep Dreams Vol. 02

Epic Chillstep Collection

'Colourful Emotions' Mix

'Forgotten Dreams' Mix

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thank you to those who reviewed on FF . net, Treadaway, i . love . pie . alot, Acidrain2345 and lilmaus. I'm humbled and overjoyed that you all like my way of interpreting Vaas.

I just wanted to touch on one of the reviews because it mentioned something important about the dynamics of Vaas and Lara's relationship. Vaas is deliberately refraining from "hurting" Lara, to some extent, obviously. He'll still treat her as a hostage and a prisoner, but not like others. Vaas seems to treat women differently to how he treats men. There's no holding back with the male prisoners, but he's kind of subtle and unnervingly gentle towards the females. But don't mistake this tenderness for empathy. If anything, he's being almost patronising. He may see Lara and all women in general, as weak and men should be able to take the pain. He's already made his point clear on what he thinks of Lara's weakness. So this chivalry is almost a form of sexism, really. He had these pre-made ideas of Lara and despite her total lack of cooperation and her resentment towards Vaas being made perfectly clear, he still refuses to see that she isn't as weak as he keeps making her out to be. Lara is a strong being and very brave, but he looks past this because he doesn't want to believe it. I assure you, however; Lara is going to be pushing more and more of Vaas' buttons as she gets stronger. There's only so much that Vaas can take before he has to fight her back. Vaas isn't just going to take it if Lara attacks, there's going to be some sort of retaliation.

He also refuses to swear in front of the ladies, but Lara has managed to get under his skin quite often so there are times where the foul language just spews out uncontrollably.

**Chapter 7: Dies Irae**

My arms were aching. The limbs wept after having being held up and strained for what felt like an eternity. My feet just about reached the floor, whilst Sam, being smaller than I, was having great difficulty staying on her tip toes. I doubt she cared. She was past caring. Her whole body must have been numb from whatever pain she had suffered whilst residing in this camp.

It may have been only an hour or two since Vaas had left, but during that short time I had clarified a few things within my psyche; the first being that I no longer feared hell. I no longer feared hell for I had been to Rook Islands – a place far worse than hell, or what I imagined to be. Who was potent enough to claim the title of The Devil? Why, the Pirate King himself, Vaas – as if that already wasn't clear.

Also, now with more certainty and determination, I was not going to stay here to find out what was in store for me. Vaas was right, it's best for me not to know and I'd rather never find out.

Vaas had left, but every now and again he would come back into sight. I was curious as to what he was doing, what he got up to around the camp. There wasn't just me and Steph in the camp who were prisoners, there were many others, too. I saw some from afar encaged, each looking as fearful as the other – and just as oblivious to what was going on as I. I assumed Vaas simply "tended" to others. Even though he seemed busy around the camp, he'd still glance up at me to catch me staring back. I couldn't fathom whether or not he was still irked by what I had done previously. It was difficult to because Vaas seemingly had a permanent frown etched on his face, as if he was angry with the world. He'd smile, but it'd be a forced one, by means of intimidating perhaps. I'd seen that smile many a time; the snake smiles but shows no teeth.

As I watched him from afar, I studied him. I observed his mannerisms, his behaviour, his reactions – I observed him with such precision. I couldn't deny that he fascinated me, but only as how a psychiatrist would find a fascination in her patient's mentality, it was entirely platonic and nothing more.

What I noticed about Vaas was how theatrical he was. There was no subtly in his character. Movements just as simple as his hand gestures as he spoke or the way he fidgeted and walked around whilst talking gave me the idea that he craved attention. This theatricality might have just came natural to him, as it sometimes does, but to such a disturbed being as Vaas, I figured it may have been something more than just nature. He may have been deprived of such attention as a child, been denied the love of a parent.

As you may already be aware, Vaas had a tendency for emotional outbursts. He releases his anger in sometimes quick temper tantrums. Nothing ever seems to pacify him, which leads me back to my previous observation. The tantrums and the constant seeking of attention lead me to believe that Vaas was still, in a way, very childlike. I know you may think that this is a ridiculous notion, but please consider my mad theory. Not only did he have this constant refusal for pacification, but the way he treated people and certain situations in general implied this theory to be true. He sees life almost as if it's a game. A prime example of this I can vouch for through my own personal experience. Both times I have encountered Vaas he has seen our meetings as some sort of game. First it was _Hide and Seek_ and then it was _Tag_. From mere observation I noticed how he looked at people. He saw them as toys, his toys. He played with him, had his fun with them and sometimes he'd break them. After he'd break them however, like a real child would with his broken toy, he'd have no use for them and discard of them, like he had done with Steph. Vaas never really allowed his lackeys to taunt, torment or talk to the poor prisoners quite like he did. They simply followed his orders. They would treat the prisoners as prisoners because Vaas didn't want anyone playing with _his_ toys. People only existed to please or entertain him. He was by no means an innocent child – he was a spoiled, cruel, little brat.

It was very dark now and with the heavy rain pouring so consistently, the pirates were having a very hard time keeping a fire going. I watched them struggle to set it alight, seeing those little embers spark just to be doused by the huge droplets of water. Many pirates had wanted to retreat under the shelter of this outpost, but were thrown out by Vaas who claimed they should 'man up' and that they should 'stop being pussies'. Only a handful was lucky enough to stay so that they could watch over me and Sam. However, they were rather apathetic to do so. They seemed to be more fixated on an intense game of poker than us prisoners.

For their apathy, I was able to attempt a struggle from my bonds. They were incredibly tight. Vaas was taking no risks when tying the rope. Nevertheless, I continued to tug and pull at the knots even if it did burn my skin to do so. I began yanking at the bonds, hoping that I had somehow gained a sort of superhuman strength that was able to pull down the beam. The beam creaked, but it was far from splintering. My wrists were red and sore from all the friction, but I just felt as if I couldn't give it up. If I was to continue both of my hands may have eroded away from my wrists.

"Lara, it's no use," Sam spoke for the first time in a long while. "Houdini himself couldn't escape from these bonds."

I knew she was right, so I gave up the ghost.

"I fear for our lives, Sam. If there is a God, or Gods, I pray to them."

"They're pretty messed up if these Gods are to exist; to allow this to happen."

"That is true, but they've allowed me to live this long. Until I stop breathing, I will continue to pray for my life and my friends."

"I'd rather stop breathing than to exist on this island, in this camp a second longer," Sam confessed sounding somewhat ashamed, but too lethargic to even care what escaped her lips.

I turned to look at her, shocked and saddened. Ever since I'd known Sam, she'd always been the optimistic one. She was a powerful, motivational speaker who would never let anyone down, or herself. I looked up to her; I followed her advice because she was usually the voice of reason. Now, I wasn't too sure. I didn't know what to believe. "Sam, you can't say that. There must still be hope yet. There's still hope that we can get away from all of this."

"I should have listened to you in the beginning. I should just look out for myself once in a while. If you hadn't had bothered trying to find me, you'd be fine. This is where looking out for others has gotten us."

I didn't say anything back. I had been convinced that everyone should look out for one another, but now I was being convinced otherwise by that same person. I was totally and utterly confused; I just didn't know how to respond.

I returned to my attempts at wriggling free of my bonds. Using all the strength in my upper body, I managed to lift my weight up from off the floor, thinking that the beam could not possibly hold. It didn't budge, but it was good exercise nevertheless.

"Stop fucking around!" I heard a pirate shout from behind me. It must have been one of the poker players with his guard up for once.

"Hey, hey! Could we stop swearing in front of the senoras, please," asked a very familiar voice. I immediately dropped my feet to the floor ready to be yelled at for trying to escape. He didn't say a word about it as he came into view, but I still glared at him nonetheless. He hissed once he saw my icy expression and moved behind me, "if looks could kill, I'd be a dead man. But you'd like that, wouldn't you, hermana? Eh, you little minx, you?" I felt both his hands gently ghosting along my waist. I say _felt, _but his palms hadn't actually made any contact with my body at all. I could still feel the presence of them hovering ever so closely.

As soon as those paws of his did make contact, as minute as it was, I kicked my leg back. He managed to evade what could have been a painful boot to the shin, but it still managed swipe him softly. Before my foot reached the ground again, he hooked his hand round my ankle forcing me to keep it up.

"Now, don't kick," Vaas lectured, bending my knee as he stepped closer to me so that his mouth was right next to my ear. Slowly, he started twisting my ankle, gradually getting more painful as he did so. I quietly moaned under my breath. "Donkeys kick. You're not an ass, are you, Lara? Huh?" He rested his head upon my shoulder, the stubble of his beard pricking at my skin.

I decided not to humour his silly games he played with me. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of earning that desired reaction he wanted from me. By tormenting me, he wanted to see me lose it; he got some kind of sick pleasure from it. A _kick_, if you will – excuse the pun. Like a child, you shouldn't indulge too much attention with them if they are naughty. This reinforces the naughty behaviour as they are getting that exact attention that they want – or at least, that's what I've always been told. The same goes for Vaas. Sooner or later he'd tire himself of these games when he sees that I no longer amuse him.

"Lara?" He sang in my ear. I turned my head away from him quickly, my ponytail thwacking his face gently. He shifted his face slightly so that he could softly brush away my ponytail to one side with his fingertips. They tickled my neck as he gathered the hairs until he had hold of my whole ponytail. I felt his fingers smoothing over the hairs, delicately twirling it between his fingers and such. "Lara, I'm speaking to you, I asked you a question." He still spoke with such a soft voice, but he was getting more and more irked every second I ignored him. "Lara, it wasn't fuc-it wasn't rhetorical," he repeated correcting his _grammar_. The gentle twirling of my hair turned into a tug as he got more agitated having to repeat my name again and again for the attention he wanted. "You know what, if you're not going to cooperate with me, that's fine," he exclaimed as he aggressively threw my foot down and released my hair. "It's not you I want anyway." I heard his feet shuffle, but he hadn't moved too far away. "Your little friend on the other hand, she's got a lot of talking to do. Her and I are gonna have a little, uh...chat."

He began to unfasten Sam's rope. It seemed as if I was more panicked than Sam was. She looked limp; her head drooped with very little concern with what was going on around her. He killed Steph and now he was going to kill Sam; I couldn't allow this to happen, at least I didn't want to allow it – but in my current situation what was I to do? The only thing I could do was protest.

"No, please! Don't hurt, Sam!" I screamed. Vaas smiled an evil grin when he finally managed to elicit something from me. He still ignored me and undid Sam's bonds anyway. I screamed again as he started to usher Sam towards the steps. "Please! Stop! I'll do anything for Sam! Don't do this, please!"

"What makes you sure I'm going to hurt her, hermana?" He asked as he turned around to face me.

"I'm not stupid. Please, take me instead of Sam. Sam hasn't done anything wrong." I was deliberately using Sam's name more so than I needed to. It was my feeble attempt at psychologically getting through to Vaas, to make him see that Sam wasn't a toy. The repetition of her name must humanise Sam in the eyes of Vaas, he must see that she is human and that she shouldn't be played wit. He wouldn't listen to reason, however. "Let Sam go. I'll take Sam's place."

"Hmm," Vaas considered as he stroked his beard in faux thought. "Nah, that ain't gonna cut it, hermana."

"Look, Vaas, I know...I mean I will never be able to understand what you're going through. The pain that you must feel. But I can imagine that hurt. I've been hurt, too. I know what it feels like to be angry at the world. I've been trying to put myself in your place to know why you do what you do and though I probably don't compare, I still have some understanding. It doesn't justify what you do, but I know that hurt. I've gone through that maddening pain and I've seen others go through it too. We haven't exactly _got on_ well since knowing each other, but I think we have...a connection. Can you feel it? It's for that reason I want you to take me instead. Let Sam go."

Vaas' smile had completely dropped. He was staring so intently at me, not glaring, just completely indulged in my words. For a moment, I thought I'd gotten through to him. It gave me hope. Before speaking he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one from the pack and set it alight, and then he placed it between his lips as the smirk returned.

"It's hard to tell whether you're really good at acting or if you really, truly meant that," Vaas sniggered with the cigarette still between his lips. "You know what; I actually think you did mean that! You did, so that means I'm gonna enjoy this all the more."

His sinister smirk widened as I struggled in my bonds. "No!" I cried as he started to turn around. "Please! Vaas! Vaas!" I cried, I cried and I cried until Vaas and Sam were no longer in sight. There was nothing else I could do now. Hot tears burned my cheeks as I whined and wailed, muttering incoherent protests to myself.

Vaas was free from true emotion. His whole persona was just an act; any visible emotion was forced and insincere. I just couldn't understand how a man like him could exist, how he felt absolutely nothing for anyone. I doubt he even felt for himself.

My crying came to a halt when I heard some commotion come from behind me. The pirates were suddenly alarmed by something. It was something I couldn't see.

"Did you hear that?" One of the pirates asked.

"Go check it out," responded another.

I heard the shuffle of feet fleeing the outpost. I could see only a mere two pirates still sat at the poker table. The commotion had perked my interest and I was ever so curious as to what had distracted them.

It was difficult to properly observe the commotion as I was facing the opposite way, so I simply had to perk my ears to understand what was happening. Not long after the fleeing of the majority of the pirates, I heard a disgusting gargling sound and then two thuds. I desperately attempted to twist my body to see what was happening, but I couldn't quite accomplish that. I did notice that the two pirates left at the table were no longer there and I figured whatever made the noise must have been emitted from those two.

I almost let out a scream when I hadn't noticed someone sneak up behind me, but a hand was placed over my mouth before I could make it.

"Shh, Lara, we've come to rescue you," I heard an unfamiliar voice. Soon enough, he was facing me and I noticed some recognisable tattoos adorning this stranger's face. He must have been one of the Rakyat. He brought a knife up to my wrists so that he could hack at the rope. I was both extremely grateful and nervous. I was nervous that we'd be caught and killed on the spot.

Once I was free of the bonds, I rubbed at the dry redness around my wrists where the rope had been chafing. I sighed in bliss. I was told to get down and be as quiet as possible. Whilst checking his surroundings the Rakyat quickly equipped me with a pistol. I was so panicked that I didn't even take in the idea that I might have to kill to escape this camp. I just followed him mindlessly. So that we weren't spotted walking down the steps of the outposts, the Rakyat urged me to venture towards the opposite side and jump the barrier. There wasn't a huge drop to the ground so I did so willingly.

As I hopped over, I heard a pirate exclaim, "Oh my God!" One of them must have noticed I had escaped; I was hoping and praying that none of them knew where I had escaped to. "She's gone! Go find her!" My nervousness and turned to terror. I loathed this constant pursuit I had to endure whenever I wasn't held captive by these pirates.

There were more Rakyat waiting at the bottom of the outpost, more joined us as we slowly crept through the foliage around the outpost. I didn't know where they were leading me but I followed them all, for I knew I had some chance at survival if I did.

I could hear almost an uproar coming from within the camp. There was a heavy search ensuing from my disappearance, so we had to escape fast. I was at the back of the group, just following the leader and cowering behind the Rakyat, frightened that our cover might be blown.

I almost fainted when I heard a savage yell holler from behind me. A pirate jumped down from the outpost and charged at me, and without a second of thought, I panicked and brought the gun up. It wasn't until I pulled the trigger when I had realised what I had done. I stared at the man as he collapsed to the ground, dead. I had just killed a man in cold blood. I felt sick to my stomach, disorientated to what was going on around me. It was like every noise had been muted, just a slight muffle of sounds. The fact that I had just committed this bestial act refused to sink in, leaving me in an almost catatonic state of disbelief and shock. I hadn't even noticed I was crying until I felt the tears running down my hand that covered my mouth as I hyperventilated.

"Lara, come on! There's no time!" One of the Rakyat shouted as he shook me out of my rigor mortis like state. I was still in a daze as I was dragged along with all the Rakyat, guns going off, screams of anger and anguish, none of it sunk in fully. Amidst this daze I was pushed into the back of a jeep and forced to duck. The Rakyat were still shooting even as we drove away. Nothing seemed to shake me out of this nightmare. I couldn't properly appreciate the pleasure of having escaped that hell, for I was still so shaken, so frightened. I felt disgusted, defiled and there was nothing I could do to ease this inner turmoil.


	8. State of Flux

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_State of Flux _is a song by Bloc Party.

Also majorly inspired by _The Great Dictator_ in this chapter.

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thanks to Sisterhood of the Bazinga, XEri-chanX and ita-chan01 for reviewing on FF . net. They're very encouraging words. Obviously, thanks to those on Tumblr who like, reblog, send me asks etc. You're all very wonderful.

This week has had to be one of the longest weeks ever. Seriously, nothing seemed to go right. A bus I ride to get home almost crashed two days in a row. I got locked out of my house one day because I forgot to put my key in my bag, so I had to stand out in the snow until someone came home with a key. The snow was horrible too, I swear it was snowing horizontally and I got completely covered – I looked like the fucking abominable snowman. Someone I knew who went to my school killed himself. And I'm just constantly tired, everything's exhausting. So glad I've got a week off now, I need it. Sorry to be a complete drag. I hardly ever post whiny posts about my life, but I just wanted to get it out.

Gimme some love for this chapter, it'll make me feel better! Nyeah, nyeah, nyeah. Seems like death by dialogue in this chapter, though.

**Chapter 8: State of Flux**

I'm not sure if it was because of the traumatic experience or the bumpy car ride, but something inside me would not settle well. Something was pricking at the bottom of my stomach, that hideous sensation you suffer when you know you're about to vomit. The stomach acid was already burning my throat, the contents of my stomach just threatening to spew.

The Rakyat drove for miles, until we had lost every single pirate that attempted to tail us. I was exhausted by the time we reached Amanaki; I thought I could pass out.

As soon as I stepped out of the vehicle, I clutched my stomach as I lurched forward to empty my stomach. I choked and coughed at the vile taste and sensation. I held onto the car to steady my crouched position. After shooting that pirate, I hadn't been able to stop myself from shaking. I had a constant feeling of guilt, as if I was no better than them for having done it. It wasn't wrong to have done what I did, was it? Surely I shouldn't feel as guilty as I do – it was out of self defence, after all. I knew this, so why did my own conscience want to torture me?

A hand was placed on my upper back in a comforting manner. Slowly, I looked up. Dennis had greeted my return to Amanaki. He looked down at me sympathetically as he patted my back, either trying to soothe me or attempting to ease this vomiting.

When I had finished, Dennis stroked my back before saying quietly, "Come on, Lara."

I obliged as he started to escort me into the settlement. Amanaki at night was a beautiful sight to witness and admittedly, it did shake me from my hallucinatory condition slightly. The natives were all socialising with one another, just getting on with their lives as if outside of here there was nothing that could harm them. I felt sorry for Amanaki. It was innocent, sane and civilised, but it was difficult to determine how long that would all last. I saw this pirate invasion as a sort of infectious disease, constantly spreading throughout the island, like an epidemic. These islands would surely be destroyed if this disease was to spread further. Vaas was a cancer and the only way to get rid of cancer is to kill the tumour before it kills you.

I was urged to sit down upon a log around the campfire. The air was warm, especially around the fire, but I shivered still. I rubbed my upper arms in a dire attempt to stop the shakes. I stared intently at the beautiful dance of the flames, trying to distract myself from the tormenting thoughts. It crackled and hissed amongst the murmurs of voices around me and for a moment I had completely forgotten everything.

"Eat this," Dennis ordered as he handed me a bowl of some alien – and apparently edible – food.

"What is it?" I asked as I stared at what looked like soggy leaves.

"It's breeze wakanabe," he replied. "It may not taste nice, but it is very healthy. You need to eat it, Lara. You're not well; you look like you might have seen a ghost. It's not good to have such an empty stomach."

Hesitantly, I brought a spoonful to my mouth. The food made me heave, not because of the taste. It wasn't foul tasting, it was simply flavourless. However, the texture was what made it vile. It was slimy and difficult to chew, but I continued to eat it anyway.

It was silent as I ate, until I felt the pressure of Dennis' gaze. I knew he wanted me to explain what had happened, or at least talk about it for my sake, rather than his. "I suppose you get to say, 'I told you so'."

"Even if that's correct, I am not going to gloat in your misfortune, Lara," Dennis spoke softly. "That is not my way. I'm sorry for what happened."

"It wasn't your fault, you needn't be sorry," I hushed back. "How did you know? How did you know where I was, that I was in danger?"

"Before I explain, I want you to understand that everything I did, I did for your safety," he started. "When you left here, I had some men follow you. I only wanted to guarantee your safety, forgive me. When you were confronted by Vaas and his pirates, my men would have protected you if they weren't so greatly outnumbered. Instead they stayed stealthy to see where they would take you. Once they were certain, they returned here to inform me. That's when I gathered more of the Warriors to aid you."

"I owe you my life," I confessed, astounded that anyone would risk so much for me. "I don't understand. What have I done to deserve your help? Especially the help that puts other lives in danger. I should have just listened to you in the first place."

"Lara, excuse my forwardness, but I see something admirable in you, something that gives me hope. You have a natural desire for adventure. You left your home looking for adventure, did you not? Instead, adventure found you. It may have caught you off guard, but you are prepared for this. You are getting exactly what you want out of this adventure; the adrenalin, the experience, the challenge. Though you may not see it that way, right now, you will soon. As you improve, as you become stronger, the easier the obstacles will be to overcome in this adventure. A famous explorer once said that _the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are_. You survived all of this – whatever this adventure has thrown at you; you have survived it so far. Now, make your survival mean something, or you and your friends are doomed."

I feared that Dennis expected too much of me, as motivational and profound as his words were.

"I don't know what to say," I admitted sounding almost bashful.

"You don't have to say anything," retorted Dennis. There was a moments silence as I finished the last of the wakanabe, allowing the words to sink in. Dennis broke the silence, speaking up again. "I forgot to mention, when the Rakyat came to rescue you, I would have been with them."

"What changed your mind?"

"I was with them, but when we were on our way, we saw some foreigners heading towards the same shore of your shipwreck." Suddenly, the conversation had perked my interest. Having remembered telling the survivors to come find me at the shipwreck, I was eager to find out who these _foreigners_ were. "These people were your friends, Lara. They were looking for you."

I was too immersed in disbelief to find the right words to say. All I wanted was to see them, here and now. Finally, I wanted to see for myself that they were alright. "Where are they now? What happened?" I questioned hurriedly.

"I led them back here, in hopes that you'd escape the pirate camp safely to return to them."

"They're here?!" I exclaimed as I shot up with newfound vigour.

"Yes. I wanted to speak to you first before I told you. Follow me," he instructed.

Dennis led me to the same shack that I had slept in during the first night in Amanaki. When I entered it looked smaller than usual due to it being overcrowded with too many people. Once I had laid eyes upon the five survivors, my heart leapt with joy. I could almost feel the weight being lifted off my chest that had been dragging me down since I found out about their existence on this island. Knowing that they had survived the wreckage, but being unaware of their safety on this island was a constant burden to me which I was now free of.

"Lara," Roth sighed as he marched over to me. He engulfed me in a hug and refused to let me go. The other four, Natasha, Chris, Seb and Patrick all gathered around me, too, each attempting to comfort me.

I didn't say anything. For the second time today, I allowed myself to cry. They weren't necessarily tears of sadness, nor of joy. I was simply relieved.

It wasn't until Roth had released me from his hug when I realised Dennis wasn't in the room. I figured he wanted to give us space.

"They took her," I began. "They took Sam."

"Who did?" Patrick asked.

"Some men, some pirates – like the ones who took Steph," I replied slowly, being painfully reminded of Steph's demise.

"Were they at the same camp that you were taken to? Dennis filled us in briefly on the details," Roth stated.

"Sam was, now I'm not sure where they've taken her."

"And what about Steph?"

However I worded my reply was inevitably going to hurt all of them, but I still took my time deciding on the best approach. It's never easy breaking difficult news to someone important to you. "Steph...Steph's dead. Sam told me that they killed her." It must have been an emotional day since tears once again threatened to fall.

A hideous silence filled the room. My words seemed to knock everyone into lethargy. They seemed so distant, their stares so empty, as if I had somehow managed to hypnotise them inexplicably. I wanted to disturb them, to at least hear one syllable utter through their lips, but I wasn't sure if that was the best decision.

"Did you not see Steph at all?" Natasha asked with her voice breaking.

"No, I didn't. I took Sam's word for it. She wouldn't lie about something like that. I saw what those pirates were doing to assumedly innocent people; I don't want to repeat it, but I figure you have an idea."

"I can't believe this is happening," she sighed.

It went silent again. No-one looked at each other or spoke to anyone, but I could tell everyone was contemplating the exact same thing. Everyone bowed their heads in unison as if they were paying their respects to the fallen, a small and poor excuse for a memorial, if you will.

Dennis returned, forcing everyone out of their pensiveness. Looking more so at me rather than the others in the building, he announced, "I trust you and your friends are ready and able to leave Amanaki soon."

"Can we not stay here?" I asked.

"Of course not. This is as far as my hospitality will stretch; I can't afford to overstep my boundaries anymore. It's not safe for you all to stay here, not now that Vaas is probably aware of your association with the Rakyat. He's probably planning attacks against the Rakyat villages as we speak, to find you. I'm sorry, Lara."

"It's okay. You've been a good friend, Dennis. I owe you a great debt that I don't think I'll ever be able to repay."

"Just swear to honour the Rakyat. The Rakyat are still here to help you, to aid you when they can, but it is far too dangerous for everyone if you were to stay here."

Roth interjected, "We've made camp in a small cave not too far from here. It's been safe for us so far, so we're going to hope that it stays that way."

The survivors all stood up straight in preparation to leave the protection of Amanaki. At least now, we were all here to protect one another, I felt more secure and safe. Before I could leave the settlement, Dennis stopped me. "Lara, can I talk to you before you go?"

I nodded and told the survivors to wait for me outside of the settlement. Once we were alone Dennis began talking again, still in a hushed tone even though there was no one around us. "I don't mean to pry, but what are your plans for when you leave Amanaki?"

"I don't know," I replied simply and honestly. I truly didn't have any idea on what to do next. My inner turmoil was still running a riot within my own psyche; I didn't know which voice in my head to listen to, which one was telling me what to do for the best, for the sake of bravery or for the sake of selfishness. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and scream, to drown out the voices. I had some serious contemplating to do once we settled in our camp.

"Are you considering rescuing your remaining friend?" Dennis asked, knowing full well that that was my priority.

"_Considering_, yes. But you've warned me before that there's a strong chance that she may be dead by now," I explained.

"That might not be the case this time. If there's one thing that's certain, it's that Vaas wants _you_. Vaas doesn't let anyone escape and he's not going to stop searching until he hunts you down. What does a hunter use? They use bait. Don't let Vaas' insanity cloud his intelligence. He's always going to be one step ahead of you and I say that in the nicest way possible. I'm not saying that you're stupid, but Vaas knows this jungle inside out and he knows how to get to people. He's going to be using your friend as bait, so if you're going to rescue her know that you are only doing exactly what Vaas wants you to do."

I nodded, staring at my boots. There was no denying that Dennis was right, but I didn't want to admit that there was no hope for Sam at all. I wanted to save Sam, I truly did, but it was difficult to imagine both of us coming out of this alive.

I turned to leave, but once again Dennis stopped me. He placed his hand around mine and turned me to face him. I stared bewildered at his hand upon mine. He soon opened up my hand and placed that same gun in it, and then he forced my fingers to wrap around its grip. The touch of it felt empowering, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. I felt burdened with power as if I shouldn't have this much. This was a device that was created solely to take away the greatest gift of all, life. Whether it's used for protection, vengeance or vicarious pleasure, this was still a lethal amount of power, too much for one person.

"You forgot this. Don't let it change you, Lara. Don't let the jungle get to you."

"Thank you, Dennis, for everything," I murmured quietly. This time, when turning to leave, I wasn't stopped. Dennis meant well, his words were inspiring, friendly and above all they hit close to home. The honest truth was that I wanted nothing more than to abide by the image that Dennis had created for me, however, he seemed to expect things that I couldn't possibly achieve. He wanted me to think in a mindset that wasn't possible for such an inexperienced human being like me.

Back in London, I was never necessarily pampered, but there was never a time where I was forced to endure such drastic conditions that ultimately required me to make life altering decisions. There was no way of knowing that death was not just around the corner, there was no _safeword _to stop when things got out of hand or too dangerous. Life doesn't stop and start at your own convenience and I was constantly and painfully reminded of that ever since I washed up upon that shore. You only have one shot in life, it is not something you gain or lose every day. It is given at life and then taken away at death. We, as people, have taken this for granted. Whether it'd be our own lives or the lives of others, we don't realise how fragile it can be.

I feared that Dennis' words of advice may have come too late. The jungle had changed me. Having gone through this experience, I appreciated my life more. I didn't necessarily appreciate life as a whole, but _my life_ and _my life_ alone I would never take for granted again. I had seen how life had become cruel and disgusting, due to years of abuse and ignorance. Life has the ability to let us be free, to live by each other's happiness, but somewhere many have lost the way. Sins of man have made us hateful, selfish and cynical. This hardness and misbegotten ways infect those who have been touched by them creating a domino effect. The savage men that inhabit this land force a barbaric nature upon the natives which they responded to in a way that paralleled theirs. It is not their fault. They want this hate of men to pass, for this abuse to end, so that the power they took from their people will return to the people. It's troubling to understand that the only way this will ever happen is if they meddle with bloodshed and war.

How could I prevent this experience from changing me? Many think that change denotes 'good', that different is 'better'. Many are also afraid of change. I like to think that change means neither bad nor good, but it definitely implies 'not the same'.


	9. Flesh & Bone

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_Flesh & Bone _is a song by The Killers.

_If you're going through hell, keep going – _Winston Churchill

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** I wanted this chapter out for V-Day, but...procrastination is a bitch. I've been addicted to Fallout.

Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed on FF . net, zoeythara and Treadaway. Thanks to those on Tumblr, too! I think I can tell I wasn't really in a good mood during writing the last chapter. Re-reading the chapter and Treadaway's review made me realise how analytical I get when I'm feeling a bit antsy, it's almost profound. I appreciate the words of concern you've expressed in your last two reviews, they've cheered me up. Even though I know I'm not obligated to write when I'm stressed, I still like to. I honestly see writing as almost cathartic, especially if your chosen subject is something you enjoy.

**Chapter 9: Flesh & Bone**

Despite not having talked to each other in such a long time, everyone, including myself, was hesitant to speak. There was so much that we could talk about, but we simply didn't. I could tell we all wanted to. I desperately wanted to ask questions, to share my stories of the wild, but I didn't know where to begin. At the same time, I was certain that everyone wanted to avoid the subject, as if none of this ever happened.

Upon entering the hole that we were to call our home, we had all veered away from one another to do our own things. Chris and Patrick were attempting to light a fire from the kindling that Seb had managed to gather, Natasha was resting on her sleeping bag and Roth guarded the entrance of the cave. I just observed my campmates from afar hoping that one of them would start speaking soon. They all looked sick and tired, completely exhausted and internally screaming to go home. I would have liked nothing more than to simply get all of them back home safely, as soon as possible, as well as Sam. I was only one woman, however, not a deity.

I cleared my throat to grab everyone's attention. "So, what's the plan of action?" I asked sounding almost nervous.

Roth stood up from his crouched position near the entrance. As soon as I had asked the question, all eyes were on him. When it came down to it, Roth was the most experienced of us all, so it was no surprise that everyone was dependent on him to know what to do. I had known Roth almost all my life, virtually. Roth was a close colleague with my parents, when they were alive, so when they died, it was always him I looked up to. I think it was for that reason that Roth always favoured me during expeditions and training.

"Lara, since you brought it up, is there anything you'd like to suggest?" This translated into, _Lara, since I don't have any idea what to do; I'm leaving everything up to you. _This also meant that I should have never said anything to begin with. Now, all eyes were on me. I had the most pungent feeling that what I was to say next wasn't going to be approved by the entirety of my campmates. My means of getting off this island were disagreeable, to say the least.

"The mobile in your satchel, can you not call for help?" I asked, having eyed the device when we entered the cave.

"It works, but there's no use trying to call anyone. There's no signal on this island. You may have spotted some radio towers when you were out in the wild. Dennis said if we were to somehow disable to the encoder that those pirates have wired to the power box then the signal will be restored. However, the towers are dilapidated and unstable making an almost impossible climb to the top."

"Well, if the pirates can do it, then so can I," I retorted.

"You'll be putting your life in great danger, Lara, but if you manage, there's a chance we'll be able to call for help and get off this God forsaken island."

"Excuse me, but don't you think we should be figuring out a way to save Sam instead of trying to save our own asses first?" Natasha asked, suddenly arisen from her slump on her sleeping bag. She seemed genuinely vexed by our ignorance for Sam's wellbeing. It wasn't that I was deliberately being selfish, I did care for Sam. I wanted to save her, but I had convinced myself that that was impossible.

Roth looked to me, waiting for me to answer. "We may as well be throwing ourselves into shark infested water if we attempt to save Sam. What if –"

"I don't care. Sam would never have left any of us behind. Just because times are hard doesn't mean we should run away from our problems; we need to confront them for the sake of the ones we love," Natasha argued. I understood that she was in a bad mood, but she was deliberately trying to vilify me, obviously to have more side with her and to make me out as the villain.

"Sam would want us to survive," I argued back, trying to keep my head on. "She even said that we need to look out for ourselves sometimes. Looking out for one another almost got us both killed!"

Natasha looked sincerely saddened by my attitude, to the point where she almost allowed herself to cry. It broke my heart, but I was thinking realistically instead of as an optimist. Optimism was getting me nowhere fast. I took a quick scan around the camp and saw that everyone was looking at me with the exact same expression. "This isn't you. How can you be so cruel? Especially after Steph, how can you be so willing to let another die?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Its one thing to be upset, but I would not tolerate being blamed for the unfortunate events and having those said events rubbed in my face. There was nothing I could have done to prevent Steph's death and assuming that Sam was still alive, there is nothing I could do to prevent hers either. I'd have to pray pretty hard for a miracle or a divine intervention to save Sam.

"How dare you use Steph's death against me?" I growled quietly.

In an attempt to defuse the situation Seb interjected, "I'm sure she didn't intend for it offend you. All she's trying to say is that she thought you were made of something stronger than this."

"Oh, I know exactly what she meant. People can't wait to point fingers and place the blame on someone. And I'm made of flesh and bone just like everyone else. I am not superhuman. I can hurt, cry, love, hate, just like any other. Not one of you has asked how I feel. None of you have been through what I have. You don't know what we're up against. You can have these mistaken and misplaced ideas of rescuing Sam, but nothing will prepare you for what you're about to face. If you were all to face the same fate as Sam or Steph's, I couldn't live with myself and I know for a fact that you will if we are to attempt a heroic rescue. I know I may sound selfish, but I am only trying to look out for you. I can't go back to that camp, I just can't," I cried. "I'm sorry."

I walked away from the group and out of the cave. I needed a breather; even it was only just for a moment. Once again, I was crying. I was frightened and now I had to carry this guilt. The gun I carried reminded me of that guilt. Staring down at it made me see the hypothetical blood on my hands, that agony I had to go through after killing that man – I never wanted to endure that pain again. I noticed the bruises on my wrists from the rope that bound me. They reminded me of Vaas and what he could be doing to Sam. The more I thought, the guiltier I felt. I was desperately trying to be brave, to think logically and to think as a survivalist, yet I still wanted to run into Vaas' camp blindly in order to rescue Sam.

When I heard footsteps approaching from within the cave, I hurriedly attempted to wipe away the tears from my face. It was Roth. He had a sympathetic look on his face as he approached whilst flashing a faux smile as if that would help the situation. It didn't, but I smiled pathetically nonetheless.

"How are you doing, kid?" Roth asked as he wrapped an arm over my shoulders. A gesture I was not familiar with coming from Roth. Roth was typically a tough, no-nonsense kind of guy with a heart of gold, but physical affection wasn't exactly his area.

"How do you think?" I replied a little smarmily.

"I wanted to apologise on behalf of the others. Natasha means well, though you may not think it. Remember that she thinks of Sam as a sister ever since they were transferred from the US together. I know that you're frightened and I know that you only want to protect the rest of the group, but getting into arguments is doing nothing for the morale of the campmates."

"I'm so scared, Roth. I feel terrible."

"You're a survivor, Lara. A true adventurer. Your mother and father would have been proud to see what a fine woman you've become. You're brave, independent, intelligent and strong. All attributes of which are admirable."

"I don't feel strong."

"What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger – you've been through a hell of a lot during these past few days and you're still refusing to see the obvious. What you claim not be is merely what you've denied. If you're going to continue convincing yourself into believing that you're a weak person, then that's all you will ever amount to. Your greatest weakness is the desire to give up. If you're going through hell, keep going. There's going to be a light at the end of this tunnel, but remember that it's always going to be too early to quit. I'll tell you what an old, marine mate of mine told me: I don't think anyone's goal in life should be to be better than everyone else. The aim should be to achieve better than you ever thought you could, surprise yourself."

I looked down at that gun. All I could see was that blood on my hands reminding me that I was a murderer, a cold-blooded killer. This wasn't something I'd ever desired to become. "Am I a bad person? Taking the life of another can change someone; I feel like a monster. I just don't know what I'm supposed to be," I murmured still focused on the weapon.

"You're a Croft, Lara."

"I don't think I'm that kind of Croft."

"Sure you are. You just don't know it yet." I didn't feel worthy of such a title. I set out on this expedition to make something of myself, to make my mark. I wanted to amount to the great expectations that my parents had for me instead of basking in the glow of their success. I didn't want to be known as Lara Croft, daughter of the distinguished Lady and Lord Croft. I wanted to be known as Lara Croft, renowned explorer and treasure hunter. My foolish ideas of such glory had ultimately tarnished the family name, no doubt.

Roth continued, "Speak to Patrick. Having someone who's gone through the same experience as you might calm your nerves." He made a gesture with his hand towards the gun. Patrick of all people was the last person I'd have expected to kill another being. Given, he was great in stature and could tear a person apart, limb from limb, in a matter of seconds, he was really just a teddy bear. I seldom talked to him when we were in college, but whenever I did, he seemed very shy. He kept to himself mostly, so the fact that he had committed this crime came as a great shock to me. "Let's go back into the cave. It's very late – or early, should I say – and we need our sleep. Maybe when we sleep on these problems, we can come to a decision on what to do when we wake."

The first thing I did when entering the cave was head straight towards Patrick. He was the only one still awake, seemingly. The others were all wrapped up in sleeping bags. Patrick sat close to the fire, poking it with a stick every so often. He seemed lost in thought and wasn't distracted even when I sat beside him. He just continued poking methodically.

"Does it get easier?" I asked quietly, trying not to disturb the others.

Patrick didn't have to ask what I was talking about, he already understood. It must have been on his mind even still. "Yes, as time passes, it'll get easier."

"I can't stop thinking about it."

"The less you think of it as a crime, the less you'll let it upset you. Try thinking about all of the bad things these men have done, try thinking about what they're gonna do, what they're gonna do to Sam, what they'd do to you, if given the chance. An uncontrollable anger boils up inside, but that anger will satisfy you. I'm not saying that we should take pleasure in killing these men, but I am saying that we should accept it. It's either kill or be killed. These men are soulless beasts; anything humane about them died long ago – if anything, we're doing them a favour by putting them to rest. Think of it as 'putting them down', we're putting them out of their misery and torment."

That was the most I'd heard Patrick speak. Like Patrick had said, it was going to take time for this pain to ease, but his advice still spoke to me on an emotional level. In no way did it justify murdering, but it made the process easier to cope with.

I thanked Patrick before leaving him at the campfire. The flames had made my eyes very heavy; a moment longer and I could have just passed out in front of the fire. I settled in a sleeping bag near Natasha, who I assumed was asleep. When I was comfortable, her eyes fluttered open as she stared at me.

Quietly she whispered, "I'm sorry, Lara. I was so caught up in my own emotions that I didn't even consider how you felt. I can't imagine what you've been through. Listening to you back then made me realise how frightened you were. What is it that's scaring you so much? Dennis mentioned that someone had you captive."

"There's a guy named, Vaas. He's the so called leader of the pirates. He has hold of Sam. The rest is a very long story, Nat, and I really don't like talking about it."

"What is it about him that frightens you? He's just a man, after all."

"No, he's something else entirely. I can't explain it."

"Maybe it's not him you are frightened of, maybe you fear death?"

"But I do fear Vaas. Vaas personifies death. Though he hasn't tried to kill me yet, nor do I think that's his main motive – he definitely has an ulterior motive which I cannot figure out – I have seen Vaas take the life of others so effortlessly. He killed Steph and now he's playing with Sam's life. It's not my death I fear; it's the death of others. I have lost one too many loved ones in my life; I do not wish to lose another. I am afraid I will lose those that I care about, just like I lost my mother and father. I myself have pondered why I suffer a grotesque fear of Vaas and I now know for certain the reason why I suffer."

As I talked, the drowsier I became. Eventually, we both drifted off to sleep. Vaas, once again, haunted my dreams.


	10. No Place like Home

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_The Wizard of Oz_

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Double digits, yo! My internet's out, so I'm forced not to procrastinate. I mean I could easily just turn on my PS3 right now and play games, but considering I haven't wrote anything for a while, I kind of need to.

Thanks to evolution-500 and the oh-so mysterious _Guest_ for reviewing on FF . net. You're so kind! Also, thanks to those who liked it on Tumblr!

Oh, and some Vaas in this chapter, y'all.

**Chapter 10: No Place like Home**

Trying to sleep in the jungle was like suffering with insomnia. If you did fall into sleep I can guarantee it wouldn't be a comfortable one. The subconscious has a disturbing way of getting under your skin when you're not fully responsive. When you're finally lulled into that false sense of security, your own psyche can subliminally inject you with horrific thoughts; I'm sure in some cases it's driven many insane.

In total, I'd probably only managed to obtain two hours of sleep during the night.

Last night, I dreamt I was in Oz. The walk along the yellow brick road seemed ghoulish and distorted compared to how the movie had depicted it. I carried a dog in my arms, my Toto. I grew skittish as I furthered into the darkness of the woods as did the dog. Eventually, the dog escaped my grasp and quickly sprinted ahead of me. I tried screaming, but I made no noise. I tried chasing after it, but the trees clawed and grabbed at me, holding me back. As I continued to struggle to chase after this dog, it grew in size, it became more rabid. It was finding it difficult to run as it writhed and growled, his hind legs kicking and jerking as saliva sprayed from its mouth with every bark. Despite realising how feral this dog was becoming, I still chased it. Even when it ran into the trees, I followed. I strayed from the yellow brick road in order to find this mad dog.

I could still hear the howls coming from the dog even though I couldn't see where it was. When the noise came to an end, the branches of the trees began slowly twisting around my ankles and wrists, tightening and tightening until I couldn't move at all. I could hear rustling and through the trees appeared Vaas. Vaas was the mad dog.

I woke up when he slit my throat. Is it wrong if I took pleasure from these nightmares? Many enjoy the idea of being able to escape reality through a desirable and pleasant dream, while really, there is nothing worse. When you wake up, the realisation that reality isn't so great can make you feel empty, angry, upset. Though the nightmares kept me awake at night, I still awoke from them knowing that things could be worse; Vaas hadn't slit my throat yet. Every night I closed my eyes hoping for a dreamless sleep.

I didn't fall back to sleep after that dream. I felt wide awake. The Sun was beginning to rise and the sounds of the birds singing was starting to battle against the chirping of crickets. Whether I was going to save Sam or not, either way I was going to have to somehow disable the pirates' encoder on the radio towers. Whilst everyone was still sleeping, I decided I was going to be productive by undergoing the daunting task. I knew the nearest radio tower was close by Amanaki; therefore I wouldn't be in too much danger if I went alone.

As quietly as possible I escaped my sleeping bag and started to fasten my boots. I jumped when Patrick, who I thought was sleeping, took hold of my arm.

"What are you doing?" he asked with concern.

"I'm going to the radio tower."

After a few moments of contemplation Patrick suggested, "I should go with you."

"No, really, I'll be fine."

"I want to go with you."

I simply nodded, knowing I wasn't going to convince him otherwise. There was strength in numbers after all.

Once we had stepped out of the cave, Patrick handed me something. It appeared to be some sort of granola bar. "Eat it," he ordered. I didn't have to be told twice. I think I managed to eat the bar in record breaking speed; I hadn't realised how hungry I was.

Whilst chewing on the last morsel of the bar, I asked, "Why did you want to come with me?"

"Last night, when you were talking with Natasha, I didn't like the way you talked of those men. I want to look after you. It's not fair having you do all the hard work, so I figured you might need some protection."

As much as I appreciated Patrick's help, it wasn't as if I was completely helpless. The last thing I wanted was to become dependent on someone, or anyone assuming that I was a damsel in distress in need of rescuing. I'd like to fight my own battles instead of having them being fought for me. However, if Patrick was willing to fight alongside me, then I wasn't going to deny such help.

The rest of the walk past Amanaki was spent mostly in silence. Patrick wasn't much of a speaker and I wasn't in the mood to start up a conversation anyway.

From afar, the radio tower didn't even look that high. I thought the height of it was just emphasised by the fact that it was on top of a hill. As we walked the pathway leading up to the tower, the more daunting it became. I was able to hear the creaking of the metallic structure and I'm sure I could visibly see it rocking ever so slightly, though I'm sure the latter may have been a figment of my imagination. I didn't fear the climb, I've never been afraid of heights. As a child, I'd climb the highest of trees around Croft Manor regardless of my father's warning not to. Once, a branch of one of the smaller trees snapped under my weight and I ended up spraining my wrist and breaking a bone in my ankle. With my fearlessness of heights, I hadn't even realised, at the time, just how high I had climbed. Even after the fall, it didn't stop me from climbing the trees, though my father attempted to be sterner. However, it did teach me to be more cautious.

All I had to do was imagine this radio tower was one of those trees I loved to climb as child and then this whole ordeal wouldn't seem half as bad. No-one should fear heights; it's the collision after the fall that should be feared.

"Are you sure climbing this is a good idea?" Patrick asked sounding extremely sceptic.

"I do, but I want you to stay down here and keep guard. I see no point in both of us taking the risk of climbing this thing." No offense to Patrick, he was a little on the big side. He was both broad, tall and a little wide around the stomach; there was more chance of the structure collapsing if he climbed rather than me.

"Good idea. Be careful, Lara."

It seemed I had misjudged the climb. Despite it looking decrepit and sounding creaky, the parts of the tower that hadn't collapsed due to neglect seemed pretty sturdy. It was somewhat nice being reminded of my childhood, those halcyon days. The climb to the top itself seemed fulfilling. There were a few slips and falls, but nothing too dire. Each time, I heard Patrick gasp, frightened that I'd come falling to my death.

"Damn, girl! You scare me every time!"

"Oh, calm down, Patrick! This is a lot easier than you may think."

"Show off."

"Hey, I heard that!" I smiled. The adrenaline combined with the social interaction of a friend made me forget about all my troubles – if only for a moment. Reaching the top of the tower not only made me forget my troubles; it also made me feel as if I was in rapture itself. It seemed like the whole world was miles away from where I was. Where I stood, I could see a glorious stretch of the beautiful dystopia that was Rook Islands, but that still wasn't the entirety; there was so much I still couldn't see.

"What's wrong?" I heard Patrick yell from down below.

"I think I've fallen in love. It's so beautiful and tranquil up here."

"Oh, that's nice and all, but can you please do this quickly so we can get it over with?"

Through the trees, I could swear I was able to spot one of Vaas' camps; the one that I had been held captive in for a short amount of time. At least, I could see the smoke rising from the pit. Knowing that Vaas was somewhere, living and breathing within that camp shattered the picturesque scene before me. He and his men were pollution.

Being brought back to reality, I remembered what I had come up here for. Before me was a power box of sorts – bear in mind that I have close to no experience when it comes to electrical or mechanical matters – somehow I now had to defuse an encoder. Believe it or not – and you may think I'm exaggerating – but this was one of the most challenging of obstacles I had encountered during my time on the island. What if I was to electrocute myself?

To open the box, I was forced to kick at the lock as hard as I could. This was when Patrick's strength would have come in handy. Eventually, after much effort, the lock broke and the power box door swung open. It wasn't difficult to spot the encoder. It looked as if it had been lazily wired up to the box, but I still had no idea what those wires did. Taking a shot in the dark, I tore the encoder from the box, but how was I to tell if that worked or not?

"Did it work?" I hollered down to Patrick.

"I don't know. Have you disabled it?"

"Well, I guess so, but I'm not sure if it did anything."

"Dennis mentioned something about flicking some switches," Patrick pointed out.

I flicked the only switches I could see and when I did so, I heard a flicker, like something had just sparked. At first, I thought I'd been shocked, but after the realisation that I hadn't, Patrick ordered me to turn around. The light atop of the tower was flashing green; whether that signalled my success or not, I was unsure.

"Are you done, can we go now?" Patrick asked. Above me there was a zipwire. With the adrenalin already coursing through me, how could I deny such an opportunity? I took a firm hold of the bars, readying myself for the drop. "Lara, what are you doing? You're going to get hurt!" Despite Patrick's exclamations, I stepped off the edge and glided down the wire. I screamed, not in fear, but for the thrill.

I landed with a crash, but I was unscathed. Patrick was running up to me looking both concerned and vexed, shouting incoherent utterances. "That was a stupid idea," he nagged.

"I'm okay. It was rather fun actually. You should try it sometime."

"I think I'll give that one a miss. Now, c'mon; we need to get back to camp before the others begin to wonder where we've disappeared to."

By the time we had returned to the cave, everyone else had arisen. I didn't waste no time with greetings or explanations of mine and Patrick's whereabouts – I headed straight to the mobile sitting in Roth's backpack to conclude whether or not I had succeeded in my mission.

They had all begun asking questions, but I wasn't able to comprehend what they were asking. When I had pulled out the phone, it was vibrating. It was as if I'd never seen such a device before, the way I stared at it, dumbfounded. The name on the phone read _Sam_. In a state of panic and confusion, I answered the phone as quickly as possible.

"Sam?"

"_Hello?_" I heard a pseudo high-pitched voice respond. "_Is this Lara speaking? Save me, please! How could you leave me here with this fiendishly good looking man?"_

My breath caught in my throat. I had gotten too excited and now having my hopes dashed seemed to leave a more powerful impact from the blow. He wasn't even with me in person, but I still felt that same anxiety I felt whenever I was around him. Having his voice echo into my ear – even though in a false tone – almost forced me to hang up there and then.

"Vaas?" The mention of his name immediately had everyone's attention. The campmates all gathered closer to me, eager to find out what was happening.

"_Nothing gets past you, huh?_" He was mocking me once again. I refused to stoop to his level; I wasn't going to let him hear my irritation. "_Look, hermana, I was under the impression that you wanted to save your friend. I'm hurt that you left the party so early; things were just about to get real crazy, but you went and ruined that, huh. Listen, if you don't come and pick up your friend today, I swear I'm gonna cut her up into tiny pieces and feed her to the pigs. Comprende?"_

"Is Sam with you?" I asked with my voice breaking.

"_Sure she is. I'll put her on," _he replied. Soon after, I heard a bloodcurdling scream emit – I knew it was Sam. "_And she truly meant that, too – didn't you, Sammy? Huh?" _I could still hear Sam's whimpering in the background.

"If you touch another hair on her head–" Before I was able to finish my sentence, Vaas' laughter interrupted.

"_Okay, okay, you're killing me. Enough of the bullshit; if you're not here before midnight, Sam will die. We'll make a date of it, huh?"_

"If I come, will you let her go?"

"_If you come, I can guarantee her life – and vice versa. How much is a life worth to you?"_

"You're not going to get away with this. Somewhere along the line, someone's going to cut you down. Tyrants are always overthrown and if I have to be the one to do it, then so be it. I will not hesitate."

"_Good luck. Remember, threats and good intentions have never won any fights before – they will never amount to action. Now, if you don't mind me, I'm a very busy guy. I've got stuff to do, places to be. Nos vemos, senorita. Adios. Bye, bye."_

I hung up after he began making kissy noises down the phone.


	11. Fortune's Fool

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_Fortune's Fool _is a song by Hiatus & Shura, but may also have originated from Shakespeare's _Romeo & Juliet. _It basically refers to someone who's been made the fool of by the fate which they followed.

For those who don't know, _Harry Houdini _was a famous escapologist.

_Pleasure Island _is the cursed amusement park in _Pinocchio_.

_All it takes is one bad day_ is a small reference and quote to _The Killing Joke _said by The Joker_._

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thanks to Sharpthought, renwulf, AmberAnarchy888 and another mysterious _guest _for the lovely reviews. To answer your question, renwulf, I want Lara to have some sort of encounter with Citra and the Rakyat Warriors, but she will not be getting inked up with the tatau. I haven't entirely thought out the storyline yet, but bear in mind that you never see any female Rakyat Warriors other than Citra – this is partly the reason why she hasn't been inked already, also why Citra is negligent to summon Lara. Sexist, sexist people.

Oh my God, guys. Tomb Raider is finally out! I've been waiting for so long that it's not even funny. I love the new Lara, but the true Tomb Raider will always be that blocky, pixelated woman with ridiculously sized breasts. I feel all nostalgic suddenly.

When I started writing Dystopia, I wrote it blindly. I didn't know much of the new Lara, nor her friends, so I apologise now if her character is a bit off, just keep that in mind. Hopefully, she isn't too different to how I've wrote her. I know the names of her friends now, having played the game for a little while. The names I gave the other survivors are referring to those friends, just to let you know. I just didn't have a clue what their names were. I cannot be bothered to go back and change every single name to the true name, so I'm continuing to refer to them as the names I've given them. They won't play a huge role in my story anyway, but it's just to clarify.

**Chapter 11: Fortune's Fool**

I knew what I had to do now. I couldn't just leave Sam behind knowing she was still alive. Even if it meant risking my life, I had to at least try and save her. This is exactly what Vaas wanted and I knew that, yet I still felt obligated to go. I didn't want to think about what he had planned, it probably wouldn't amount to what it actually was he was planning. If I was to think of some sort of tactic in getting both me and Sam out of that camp alive, Vaas was always going to be two steps ahead of me. I'm unsure of how long he had been in this _business_, but I had been in his company long enough to observe how skilled he was. He was charismatic, strong, and quick with a scary level of intelligence when it came to outwitting his opponents – those traits can't be a good combination, given that they're applied to a pirate.

After the unpleasant phone call, I informed the group on what had happened even though I'm sure they already got the gist of it. I also told them what I intended to do – their thoughts on the matter were unfavourable, to say the least.

"So you're just going to waltz straight into the camp and hope that Vaas lets Sam go? Let's just say that he does – what about you? As if this deal with the devil you've just made is actually a good idea, what makes you think that another compromise is going to save your life?" Seb was already on my back about the situation. Couldn't a girl catch a break around here?

"I didn't say that this would save us both, I said I was willing to risk it. What would you have me do? If you have another plan, I will gladly hear it," I argued.

"We'll come with you," Chris suggested. "You can't do this alone; there's too much at stake."

"No," I exclaimed abruptly. "That is the last thing I want. Vaas said he wanted me there. He's not going to take lightly to or welcome other intruders in his camp. He'll do to you what he's doing to Sam and...what he did to me, or worse. We don't need any more of us getting caught or killed. Look, you all want me to make an omelette without breaking any eggs. The darkest hour comes just before the dawn and I assure you, you will see the light soon. You've just got to let me do this."

I could tell by the melancholy expression, which was evident in their faces, that they were still incredulous to the idea. Even I wasn't fooling myself with my words. My attempts at lacklustre conviction were mainly to convince myself that there was certainty of life at the end of this dark, dark path I followed.

"Roth, can I talk to you before I leave?"

He nodded glumly in reply. We made our way to the entrance of the cave, leaving the others to return to their duties. Once out of earshot, Roth began talking before I had a chance to. "You know this isn't a good idea, Lara."

"It's perfectly clear, but considering we're running out of options there isn't much else we can do."

"So you think running blindly into a warzone should even be considered as an option? This is insane. At least take someone with you as protection."

"I don't need protecting! I don't want to go back to being that scared, little girl I once was. I need to prove to myself that I can do this; that I'm not that weak girl."

"I wasn't insinuating that you were weak, Lara. Everything you need protecting from is due to me. I saw that oncoming storm, yet I continued. I let you slip from my hands, yet I did nothing to rescue you," Roth muttered. It was seldom that I'd ever see Roth visibly express his solemnity, so when it occurred that incidence would always seem alien to me; I never knew how to react to it. The last time I remember him being remotely morose was at the loss of my father and that was a good few years ago.

"There was nothing you could have done to prevent any of this, Roth. You shouldn't be too hard on yourself."

"I've known you since you were just a tot, running around in your penguin pyjamas desperate to follow in your father's footsteps. Before your father went missing, I made a promise to him that I would look after you, take you under my wing if anything was to happen to him. I promised that I would take care of you and make sure that you were protected from the dangers of the world – and I haven't. I'm so, so sorry, for all of this, Lara."

Roth had been more than admirable as a replacement father figure when I lost my dad, even if he couldn't see it. I think it's natural being plagued with all these self blaming thoughts when in the position of Roth's. He was, after all, the captain of the Endurance, but that doesn't mean that this was all due to him. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"None of this is any of our faults, but I plan on putting an end to this lunacy one way or another. You can continue to protest, but I will not listen. If anything is to happen to me, know that it is because of my own free will – it has nothing to do with you. I'd hate for you to be burdened with unnecessary guilt. I can do this, Roth. Trust me. Somewhere, deep down, you must see it too. I want you to send out an SOS. We need to get off this island as soon as possible. If I'm not back within twenty-four hours, I want you to call for help anyway. Please, Roth, promise me that. "

He sighed heavily. He'd known me long enough to know that once an idea had been planted in my head that I wouldn't give up on it.

"Make it count, Lara."

After a moment of preparation I set off on foot to Vaas' camp. My total lack of faith in myself showing when I bid farewell to them all as if this was the last we'd ever be in each other's company. I left the cave with a full stomach and with my gun tight against my hip in the holster Roth gave to me.

Knowing how unpredictable Vaas was, it wasn't wise to dawdle to the camp. Despite feeling that tinge of anxiety in the pit of my stomach, which really should have repelled me from my destination, I ran briskly through the foliage. At any moment, Vaas could change his mind and decide to go back on his word. If he wanted to kill Sam, who was going to stop him? Sam motivated me to keep running even when my legs almost buckled from the burn.

When I could see the smoke rising into the air and I could hear the faint murmur of male voices, that's when I decided to slow down slightly. There was still a voice in my head which continued to question my motives. _Was I really going through with this? Was I willingly triggering this mouse trap? _I was sacrificing myself in order to save another.

I took the gun out of its holster. Taking slow steps I edged closer into the camp. As soon as the first pirate spotted me, I aimed the gun at his head.

"Hey, Houdini's here!" the pirate yelled in alarm. _Houdini? _Was that what they were calling me now?

An assemblage of pirates were immediately on me, like a shiver of sharks, they smelt the blood and were ready for the kill.

"Lower your weapon," another pirate hollered.

"Lower yours first!" I retorted, aiming rapidly at different pirates, not knowing the source of the second voice.

"You're outgunned, bitch! Lower your fucking weapon now, before I put a bullet in your fucking skull!" a third pirate exclaimed irately.

"Hey, is that any way to speak to our guests, amigo?" Vaas asked, in his cool, calm and collected demeanour. I was unsure of how long he had been amidst the group of pirates, despite him sticking out like a sore thumb atop a shifty looking stage of sorts. On top of that said stage, Vaas stood in front of a man swaying in a noose. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd be involved in an old-fashioned lynching sometime soon.

If this wasn't sufficient evidence for Vaas' perpetual cry for attention then I don't know what is. If he could, he'd have his name in bright lights upon that stage.

"Lower your weapons. You, too, Lara," he ordered. Vaas stared intently at me, jerking his head in a way that aimed to summon me. Once the pirates lowered their weapons, I followed suit and obeyed Vaas' orders. I was timid with scepticism so I fumbled putting the gun back in the holster. My uneasiness showed even more so when I began my walk up to Vaas. Like The Red Sea the pirates all parted onto two sides, all of them watching my walk of shame.

When I reached Vaas, I stood below him, not wanting to join him on the stage. For a moment, he absorbed the sense of superiority he felt, being emphasised by the fact that he was on a higher level than I. Once he was finished, he hopped down in front of me. He placed the flat of his hand on my cheek, a gesture I'd become all too familiar with, so familiar that I didn't even flinch at his touch anymore. Gently he stroked it with his thumb; this was when I pulled away.

"So, brave, Lara – commendable...but misguided."

"Where's Sam?"

"Someone's eager –"

"Where's Sam?" I interrupted sounding more stern the second time. If I was going to be willingly handing myself over to him, I had to know that he still held is end of the bargain.

He wrapped an arm over my shoulder. I smelt a strong whiff of cigarette smoke as he did so. "Come with me. I'll take you to her." He began ushering me further into camp. Walking through the camp was like walking through a hamlet of corpses. It was unnerving. I noticed that not many civilians were still alive, since I had seen them last. The majority of the cages that contained the prisoners were now empty, or were inhabited with dead bodies. Some bodies hung from nooses; some upside down, mutilated in some way. What was all this barbaric violence in aid of? I ached to question Vaas further, though he always seemed cryptic with his answers. I wasn't entirely sure if I truly wanted to know the answer anyway.

It seemed as if Vaas was leading me out another exit of the camp. This was when I began to get antsy. I has assumed that Sam was somewhere in this camp, so where was he leading me?

"Wait," I blurted out, removing Vaas' arm in the process. "Where are you taking me?"

"I said I was showing you," Vaas replied. He placed his palm on the small of my back and pushed me with a little more force. "Now, get in the back." He was referring to, what looked like, an open top truck.

I had to draw the line here. I felt as if I was being duped. "No. Before I go anywhere with you, I need to know if Sam's okay."

"And I'm going to take you to her now," Vaas said slowly and gradually becoming more agitated. "Get in the truck before I force you in." He nudged me slightly, urging me to enter. I stepped in the back and he followed soon after; my instincts were telling me not to, maybe I should have trusted them, but at this point, what was I to do if I denied him further? "Amigo, drive," Vaas ordered one of his men.

Vaas sat close beside me, refusing to take his eyes off me, scared that if he blinked I'd disappear.

"Just tell me where you're taking me," I sighed. "Please." I hated when he stared at me, especially when neither of us were talking. It left me in almost unbearable silence.

"The Pirate Cove," he answered simply. "_One of_ the Pirate Coves, anyway."

"What is this cove?"

"It's a cove with pirates."

"But why have you taken Sam there? What have you done with her?" I questioned ever so curiously.

He sighed through his nose as he glared at me. Had I said something wrong? He ignored my question and turned his head away from me. As he leaned back, his elbows rested on the edge of the truck and his legs stretched out and rested upon the seats opposite us. "Beautiful, isn't it, my island?" Vaas asked as he peered out. I mirrored his glance and stared out towards the shore of _his _island.

"It would be if you didn't abuse it like you do."

"Abuse it? Lara, the beauty is that you can do whatever the fuck you want to. No rules, no laws – society doesn't fuck you over on this island. You're free to do whatever, hermana."

"I'd like to know your definition of freedom. You are holding innocent people against their will and killing them! How can you do this and claim that this is a land free from subjugation?"

"_That _is exactly the problem. You're implying that that freedom is a good thing. People hear whispers of an island, an island uncharted, so beautiful, and so heavenly – they hear that this island grants you freedom. Naturally, in their naive and supposedly innocent minds," he paused to turn his head round slowly. Looking me in the eyes, his hand formed the shape of a gun and he brought it to his head before continuing, "this triggers something. They hear the word freedom and automatically link it with good. What I don't understand is why. With freedom there's power. A power which is unattainable in civilised society because that society is afraid of what that power might obtain. There are men, average men, who suppress certain urges because they know it wouldn't be accepted and don't like the consequences of what their actions can cause. Therefore they don't do it. Given the chance, if they could do anything and get away with it, do you think they'd do it? What would they do? You see, without order, there is madness. And with madness, people can satisfy the darkest of urges. On this island, it's a dog-eat-dog world, Lara. Survival of the fittest, either sink or swim. So if you want freedom, you can have it, but you better make damn sure you're good at swimming, or you're gonna be chum for the sharks to feed on. This is my _Pleasure Island_, Lara."

It was difficult to argue when he made sense. There was no method in this madness, but his words made perfect sense. So what if he was right? That doesn't justify his actions, right? What he was doing was still immoral and it was men like him who tainted the sanctity of freedom. His premise seemed to implicate that everyone was innately evil. Without rules, he thought that human nature would become completely depraved, that everyone would release their suppressed inner demons. Surely he can't be right about that. Not all of us are good simply for the fear of society's norms, right? There must be some natural goodness in all of us; we want to live by each other's happiness rather than each other's misery, right?

"I don't wish to believe that people are all truly wicked. Morals must still prevent those urges from succeeding, that's to say that those urges even occur at all."

"Hey, I'm not saying that we all are. I'm saying that the wide majority will let morals slide. Let's take you, for example. Morals are only ever going to be your weakness. And I don't know, this island has driven many insane, all it takes is one bad day. You'll see. Insanity can be infectious. It will lift the wool from your eyes and you will see the world from my perspective, one meaningless and demented game."


	12. Date Night

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thank you renwulf, schoolruler and Nix for the reviews! Also, thanks to the people on Tumblr who liked it!

So, I've finally completed the new Tomb Raider. It was brilliant. I was constantly expecting Vaas just to pop out and be like, 'hey, girrrrl', but that never happened. Now I need to finish Prototype 1 & 2.

Maniacal laugh at the misleading chapter title. HahahaMWAHAHA. If you were expecting flowers, a box of chocolates and a dinner date, you've come to the wrong neighbourhood, motherfucker.

It's so weird, I was literally just about to post this chapter, and then I got an alert that schoolruler reviewed and was asking about the next chapter. It's like...you knew. *twilight zone music*

**Chapter 12: Date Night**

Vaas continued to talk and informed me on Rook Islands' history. I was too deep in thought to fully comprehend what it was he was telling me, however – he most probably knew this, but he continued to talk amongst himself nevertheless. From what I managed to grasp, it seemed as if this island was eternally cursed, or just incredibly unlucky. The Chinese, British and Japanese had all, at some point, enslaved or killed many of the natives on this island, previously. Now, these pirates were mimicking those old ways. I would have most likely found Vaas' stories more fascinating if I wasn't under given circumstances. I just couldn't stop thinking about Sam.

The vehicle slowed down as we went off the road and onto sandy ground. We pulled up near a dock, where more pirates welcomed my arrival with an icy and belittling glare. Upon orders, I stood and went to exit the vehicle. Immediately, I felt my arm twist painfully. Vaas had taken hold of me.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed in both shock and pain.

"Standard procedure," he replied before continuing to tie both my wrists behind my back. My wrists were still sore from when I was last bound, so the excruciating sensation felt emphasised.

"I want to see Sam! Where is she?" I struggled angrily seeing as Vaas still refused to prove he had kept his side of the bargain.

Vaas ignored my question and pushed me towards two pirates. "Take her to the shooting room," Vaas instructed, and then nonchalantly meandered away. He ignored me completely, as if I wasn't even there, didn't even look in my direction. _The Shooting Room_. Was this where I was to be executed? Was I just going to be forced to stand against the wall and act as a human target?

"You bastards, where is she!?" I continued to spit. I knew it was useless attempting to wriggle free from the pirates' bruising grips, but I did so anyway.

I felt like cattle being led towards the cove, where I was liable to be butchered within. As we approached closer, the more weary I became. Through all the struggling, I had tired myself out. I puffed and panted with perspiration beginning to form at my brow, until I entered the coolness of the cove. It shaded me from the harsh glow of the Sun, but it still seemed a little stuffy inside. It seemed packed with pirates, ammunition, weapons and barrels of what I assumed to be gasoline – or some sort of flammable substance, at least. The environment made me uncomfortable in every way possible. I could almost feel the weight of the pirates' stares upon me, some stares accompanied with cat calls and wolf whistles. All I could smell was the strong stench of sweat and napalm combined with cigarette smoke and weed. To say it was unnerving would be the understatement of the century.

As I was taken further into the cove, the dimmer it became. There was no natural light, only lit lamps guided us along the path. Any talking that I could hear at the entrance of the cove was now a distant murmur.

The cove seemed to have been refurbished to work as a suitable living situation. There were cots, tables, chairs and the floors were shoddily panelled with flimsy looking planks of wood – even stairs had been put into place for easier access down rocky slopes.

The pirates opened a heavy, metallic door and then led me up a set of stairs. The raised platform we were on was above water. Since it was dark, it was difficult to tell how deep it actually was. It looked eerie nonetheless.

The room was a strange one. It was very open, but was cluttered with all kinds of junk. Wheelbarrows, animal carcasses, cages, chests. In one corner there was a wooden chair. Aimed at it were several bright set lights and a camera tripod. _Ah, shooting room. _It was clear to me now. He hadn't meant shooting as in the weapon sense, but for what reason did he want to film his victims? Was he ransoming these poor people or did he just like to keep sick mementos of his kills?

Seeing that I was being taken to that wooden chair, I restarted my struggle to escape. I shouldered one pirate away from me and then booted the other, releasing me for only a brief period of time, before they recaptured me. It was difficult to fight against two opponents especially when your hands are tied behind your back. Aggressively and unwillingly on my part, they pushed me into the chair. While one stopped me from wriggling, the other tied my ankles to the legs of the chair. They then proceeded to redo my bounded wrists so that they were attached to the chair also.

I heard the door opening again, followed by the thud of footsteps coming up the rickety stairs. "Leave, amigos," I hear Vaas order the two pirates. They do so as quickly as he had said it.

The legs of the chair were uneven and wobbly, as if it was going to give in at any moment. As I struggled in my bounds, the chair slid further and further back. Knowing how weak the legs of the chair were, I knew if I struggled enough, I'd be able to break free.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," Vaas pointed out. "You rock any further back and you're gonna be in for another trip. By the way, I never got that postcard. Didn't I say I'd find you if I didn't get one, huh?" He was referring back to our first encounter. It seemed years ago; I had completely lost count of how many days I had actually been on this island. I knew it wasn't that long, but every hour seemed like a day and every day seemed like a week.

Vaas was right. I was edging towards the drop of the raised platform. This was where the water met the land, however, so I knew for certain that there was nothing that could break my fall. It wasn't as if it was a huge drop, but I knew I could easily land the wrong way and do some serious damage to my body.

"What do you want with me? You said you'd show me Sam, you bastard!"

"And true to my word, I will show you Sam," he spoke calmly, as opposed to my frantic and irate wails.

Once stepping into the light that blinded me, I noticed he held something in his hands. It was a camera of sorts; a very familiar looking camera. "Wait...wait, that's Sam's! What have you done with her?"

Looking down at the camera, he turned his back to me and ignored my question. "This is a good piece of equipment. Looks expensive – I like expensive things. And you're friend...she was very expensive."

"I don't understand."

He flipped the camera open and something started playing. It was the sound of whimpering, Sam's whimpering.

"_Take two. Now I want you to do it this time without the lip. Don't disrespect me. And please...no swearing. Let's keep this PG, huh, hermana?" _ Vaas turned the camera around so that I was able to watch the video. Sam was obviously the focal attention, with a bloody nose and a contusion around her right eye. The blood looked fresh, so I'm guessing _Take One _didn't go so well. Vaas, who was recording the video, was pushing the camera closely into her face, but she refused to look directly into the lens. As much as I didn't want to, I continued to watch the torturous video. It was a ransom. Vaas was ordering Sam to talk to the camera as if she was talking to her parents.

For a moment, Vaas left the brightness of the lights, stopping the video in the process. He returned holding a second wooden chair, swinging it in front of me.

"Where is Sam now? You need to keep your end of the bargain. The deal was that if I showed up, you'd let Sam go, now where is she? I need proof."

"I kept my end of the bargain; I _let Sam go._" His tone was odd. Vaas enjoyed his games and I knew he was trying to play with me.

"What do you mean you let her go?"

"You know, Sam begged for her life. She begged...like a dog. A bitch. She was a good bitch; I'll give her that – once I trained her, that is. And I know soon, even you'll learn a few tricks or so, when I've finished with you. You might even start calling me 'master'."

I was kicking myself for how naive I had been, for thinking that I'd be able to make a compromise with this man and have him keep his end of the deal. _Stupid, Lara, stupid. _Okay, deep down, I knew that Vaas was going to attempt to trip me up somewhere in our deal, but I didn't think that he'd ever stoop this low, when I really should have considered it. If I understood correctly what he implied, then he had killed Sam. I couldn't bear the idea of Sam begging for her life.

"You're a monster. Why are you doing this?"

He leaned in close to me as if he was about to tell me the deepest of secrets. I leaned back as far as I could within my restraints. "You see, I'm in the human trafficking business, and Lara, business is thriving. Not to mention, so much fun."

"You sold her?" I asked in a whimper. These pirates were quite literally repeating history. It's a shame that such bad luck and ill-doings had to befall upon such a beautiful island. "Why were you ransoming her if you were just going to enslave her anyway?"

"No, no, you see, you're little friend, she refused to co-operate. Even after all that obedience training, there was still some bite in her. She was a mad dog and you know there's no getting through to mad dogs. And do you know what happens to mad dogs, Lara?"

At first I thought it was a rhetorical question, but the way he just stared into my eyes with an empty expression made me think otherwise. I decided to play along, "What?"

"They get put down. Do you understand what I am telling you, Lara?"

It was hard to take in. I had never hated _anything _as strongly as I did at that very moment. There was a burning sensation tingling all over my body as I felt that hate course through my veins. The tip of my tongue tickled, desperately wanting to spit the vilest, venom coated profanity anyone could ever imagine. I was seeing red. I knew, that in that brief period of time, if I hadn't have been confined, I'd have willingly killed Vaas and not thought twice about it.

However, there was something in me, some strange intuition, if you will, that was telling me I was being fooled again. Vaas was tricky and obviously hadn't done anything that gives me reason to believe a word that came out of his mouth. Not only was Vaas tricky, but he was also impulsive. If Vaas had really killed Sam, he wouldn't just be telling it to my face; he'd be rubbing it in my face. I hadn't seen sight or sound of Sam, other than on that video camera and until I had first hand evidence of Sam's death, that's when I'll mourn.

"You're lying!"

"Lara, what is it you don't understand? That dog has just had her day, she has gone to a better place now, she's in doggy heaven_, I fucking killed her_. And you'll be fucking joining her if you don't play your fucking cards right, hermana."

"You sick bastard! I will never do what you want me to, so you might as well kill me now. I will not bow to a beast like you."

In a fraction of a second, Vaas viciously kicked the wooden chair he had placed in front of me. It went flying into one of the set lights, knocking it over with a crash. Abruptly after, he had me by the throat. Tipping my chair onto its back legs, he teased the idea of letting me fall. My tip toes desperately fought to keep contact with the ground.

"Do I need to remind you who's in fucking charge here?!" Vaas yelled furiously. "Know you're fucking place or I'll crack your fucking skull open like a fucking coconut!"

His thumb was pressing down onto my windpipe, making it nigh on impossible to utter anything. To the best of my abilities, I tried to express my discomfort, but all that I could form were squeaks and gasps.

He pulled me forward before releasing me from his grasp. I wheezed and coughed from not being able to breathe for so long. Vaas shoved his face close to mine so that our eyes met. Now, in a softer tone he purred, "The choices you have made have brought you here. Do you feel guilty for leaving Sam behind, huh? When you left with those Rakyat cocksuckers, did you even think of Sam? If you actually cared for Sam as much as you like to think you do, you never would have left her behind. You think you're so heroic and brave, when in reality, you're ugly like me."

"You don't know a _thing _about me," I hissed still getting my breath back.

A smirk curled at his lips. It looked especially daunting in the shadows. He veered away for a moment to place the wooden chair to its original position. He spun it around, so that when he straddled it, he was facing me. Flipping open the camera again, his elbows rested on the back of the chair so that the camera was directed at me.

"Now, it's your turn."

"Look, you're not going to achieve anything with this ransom," I informed him before he started recording.

Vaas sighed, leaning forward to bang his head on the back of the chair in frustration. "What the fuck is the matter with you?"

Before he flew off the handle in another one of his temper tantrums, I had to quickly defuse the situation by explaining myself. "No, you don't understand, even if I was willing to do this, there'd be no point in making the ransom."

"I think it's you who doesn't fucking understand, hermana. Do you not get the mechanics of a ransom? We make this video, you beg to your mama and papa, I get paid and we all go home happy, comprende?"

"Both of my parents are dead, so unless you know of a way to bring them back, then your ransom is pretty much useless."

Vaas stared at me for a moment with a blank expression, before chuckling slightly. "I've always said you were a funny one, right? Now enough with the jokes."

"I've been told that I'm not much of a comedian. And why would I joke at a time like this?"

"And you have no other family, no relatives?" He questioned.

I shook my head in reply. It took Vaas a second to fully register all of the information. His teeth gritted together as he jumped up from his straddled position and threw the chair aside. Turning away from me, he lurched forward and bellowed a mighty and prolonged cry, "_Fuck!" _I flinched as it echoed throughout the cove. "What a fucking waste of – are you fucking lying to – you do know that you are useless to me now, huh?" He was so irate that he couldn't physically seem to form a complete single sentence. He pulled out the gun from his holster and quickly pressed the gun to my temple. I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to hear the click of his gun followed by a bang; but all I could hear was the sound of Vaas' heavy breathing through his nose. I opened my eyes again when I felt the coldness of the gun grazing against my cheek. "Bonita," he hushed. "Maybe we should take this slowly, huh? I feel like we're rushing into this and I don't want to spoil this..._connection _between us. And you know what they say; absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Still facing me, he took steps backwards towards the exit of the shooting room. "Let's see you get out of that one, Houdini."

I heard the swing of the metal door, then silence. How am I going to get out of this?


	13. Howl

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **_Howl _is a song by Florence + the Machine.

_We stopped checking for monsters under our beds when we realised they were inside us _is a quote, but from where it originated, I'm unaware. I want to say it's The Joker, but I'm not sure if he even said it. I see it associated with him a lot, but, I don't know. If you know the true origin, you can let me know.

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thanks to schoolruler, Peppermintcookz, SickMonkey89 and RaumKatze for the reviews on FF . net. To SickMonkey89, if you've played the older TR games and are expecting the new one to be anything like them, I wouldn't buy it. The new one is good, but it still doesn't compare to the oldies. Tomb Raider III will always be my favourite, personally (Look out for a small TRIII reference in this chapter, actually, my dear readers. During the Nevada level with the quadbike ;D). The newer one was also quite short, I found. I even got 100% and I would have done it in less than a week if it wasn't for a game ruining glitch. FC3, on the other hand, instantly became, if not the best game I've played, one of the best games I've ever played. It was one of those 'oh-my-god-it's-3AM' games; I was addicted.

Thanks to those on Tumblr, too!

I hope y'all have a nice Easter, if you celebrate it! I know I will. I'm going away this week and I won't be back till my birthday (1st April), so another chapter won't be out until after then. Sorry. Oh, yeah, BUY ME SOMETHING.

**TRIGGER WARNING IN THIS CHAPTER, GUYS. I DON'T KNOW HOW SENSITIVE MY READERS ARE, BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I DON'T CONSIDER IT TO BE TOO DIRE, BUT OTHERS MIGHT – EACH TO THEIR OWN.**

**Chapter 13: Howl**

As Vaas had left, another pirate entered. I assumed he was here to keep guard. Vaas was paranoid that I would actually find a way to escape.

The pirate sat within close vicinity of me upon the chair that Vaas had previously occupied. He didn't say a word to me. He didn't even look at me. It was all very unnerving. For some strange reason, I felt the need to break the uncomfortable silence, though I knew it'd do me no good.

"Please," I whispered. "Let me go."

"Shut the fuck up," was his response.

"Can you at least tell me where Vaas has taken Sam? Please, I'm begging you."

"I said 'shut the fuck up', bitch! Why the fuck would I tell you anyway?" This was further proof that Vaas hadn't killed Sam. I knew he had taken her somewhere, but where exactly was still a mystery.

"What's Vaas planning to do with me?"

Immediately after I had asked, the pirate stood up irately, the legs of the chair screeching as he pushed it back. I gasped in surprise as he did so. I should have been used to short tempers by now after the amount of time I'd spent with Vaas.

"If I was Vaas, I'd know exactly what I'd do with you," he started. He placed a hand gently around my neck. I wriggled uncomfortably wanting to be free of contact. "I'd keep you all to myself." His other hand made its way to my thigh. I shook my leg to get away from him, but his grip became bruising on my inner thigh. I hissed at the pain. He leaned in closely to my ear and I heard him sniffing. I winced when I felt his nose bury into my neck. "I can smell your cunt."

In a fraction of a second, something bestial began to take over my instincts. Having my boundaries pushed to a disturbing degree spurred an animalistic rage within me. I snapped my head around before he moved away and bit down hard onto the brute's ear. He screamed in pain, but I refused to let go. It wasn't until I felt blood trickling passed my lips that I decided to release him. I quickly spat the blood out of my mouth and into his face before head butting him away from me. Before he had a chance to recover, I pushed myself back as hard as I could, praying that I landed chair first rather than head first.

I let out a scream as I fell to the damp ground. The chair shattered at the impact with one of the pieces jutting into my back. I groaned in pain, but didn't have long to soothe the throbbing before the pirate leapt from the platform, too. I did a backwards roll onto my feet so that he didn't land on top of me. The pirate came at me, angry and running, and once he was in a close enough range, I landed a spinning kick to his jaw. He stumbled backwards slightly, so I attempted repeating the kick. This time, however, he caught hold of my ankle, twisting it so that I fell to the ground. As fast as I could I reached for the gun in my holster. My hand clasped it and pulled it out, but the attacker was already on me before I could aim. I battled against his strength to bring the gun up to his face. We were both writhing and grunting refusing to give in to one another. I had managed to acquire a strength I never knew I had; maybe it was simply my body forcing me into _fight-or-flight_ mode after my limits had been overstepped.

As soon as the muzzle of the gun was directly aimed at him, I didn't hesitate in pulling the trigger. The gunshot echoed throughout the cove and I felt the splatter of blood upon my face. Just like that, it was over. I panted, out of breath as the pirate's corpse collapsed on me. I felt blood trickling down my neck where the gunshot wound bled. In disgust, I rolled the lifeless body off of me. Shakily I stood up from my position. My second kill was no easier than the first, but I just remembered what Patrick told me. I refused to have another mental breakdown over this kill.

At the time, I hadn't thought of the consequences of my actions. That gunshot had no doubt attracted the attention of many other pirates in the cove and if Vaas hadn't heard it, he'd definitely be alerted sooner rather than later.

It'd be foolish for me to run back the way I came. I was by no means prepared to take on several, vigilant pirates. To be totally honest, I wasn't sure how many bullets were left in the gun if I did decide to run head on into trouble. My only other option of escape was to see where the water led me. I'd have to do it fast because I knew I'd be hunted down soon enough.

The water looked eerie, as the part of the cove I was in was very dim. As I took steps further into the water, the deeper it became. I swam, not knowing where the water would take me, but knowing this was my only chance at escaping. From behind me, I heard the door opening. I stopped moving so that whoever entered couldn't hear the splashes of the water.

"She's not here, boss," I heard a frightened pirate announce.

"What?"

"She's disappeared."

There was a moment of silence before Vaas started again. "Well why the fuck are you still standing here? Go find her! She couldn't have gotten that far, seeing as the door was fucking locked! _Move, you fucks!_"

I held my breath and dove under the water so that there was less chance that they'd spot me. Underneath the water, I saw a glimmer of light coming from a small opening in the cove wall. It was a tunnel of sorts. In hopes that I'd find a way out, I decided to follow it. The tunnel was very narrow and long, but at the end of it, I swore I could see daylight. I swam as fast as my body could allow me; my muscles ached and my lungs felt as if they'd give in at any moment. I moaned as I struggled to reach the end of the tunnel, where I could now see the surface of the water. There was a moment where I thought I was going to pass out before I could make it. It reminded me of the time that I first washed up upon this island.

The blessed air. I wheezed when I inhaled sharply as if this breath would be my last. I could hear an alarm sounding from within the camp. Eventually, the pirates would be searching every nook and cranny so I had to work fast. Feebly I swam on, feeling the depth of the water becoming shallower as I neared the exit of the cove. The sky was an odd, orangey-red colour and it reflected upon the water making it look like the sea had turned to blood like The Nile.

I climbed the rocky exterior of the cove so that I was above the entrance. Attentively, I found cover so that I wasn't spotted by one of the pirates roaming around. From the height I was at, I was able to get a decent overview of the entire camp. From what I could see, the camp was completely surrounded by a tall fence, so any escape from here would be through the way I came in, which looked nigh on impossible given that the entire camp was virtually heaving with pirates. Amongst one of those pirates, I knew Vaas lingered and he had eyes like a hawk so I was bound to be spotted quickly.

At the bottom of the hill I stood upon, there was a red jeep. If I was to somehow reach that vehicle before being spotted and start the engine, too, I'd be able to race on out of here.

With my gun in hand and in a crouched position I stealthily entered the tall grass. As quietly as possible I descended the steep gradient towards the jeep. I started speeding up as I neared the vehicle, but I hadn't noticed the pirate standing next to it. I gasped and came to a halt.

"The fuck was that?" I heard the pirate mutter to himself as he twisted around to look in my direction. Before he had a chance to spot me cowering in the grass, I aimed and pulled the trigger. He fell like a ton of bricks. I could already hear the commotion caused by the gunshot; time was ticking and I didn't want to waste it by acting like a sitting duck. I hopped in the vehicle and low and behold, keys were already in the ignition.

Just as I was about to turn the keys, two arms reached in and snaked around mine. I screamed and thrashed attempting to break free, but it was a losing battle. Not being able to grab onto anything, the pirate pulled me out through the window. I felt like a crocodile doing a death roll, desperately wanting to maim the attacker in some way. When I managed to kick him in the shin, he aggressively threw me to the sandy ground. I rolled onto my back and I pushed myself away from him, grabbing my gun in the process. I hadn't noticed the second pirate behind me. He disarmed me and held my arms above my head so that I was completely defenceless. My legs kicked the sand trying to stand up and escape, seeing as a huge horde of pirates was running towards me. I knew I was doomed. There'd be no way to escape this now. Vaas was leading the horde; they all slowed down as he did so.

The pirate that wrenched me from the vehicle flexed his fists as he walked towards me. His knuckles turned white as his eyes turned a darker shade with an impenetrable wrath. His fist collided with my face again and again and again. I grunted and whimpered after each hit; he was holding nothing back. My sight seemed hazy; everyone standing around me just looked like blurs, strange shapes. I could feel blood trickling from my nose and past my lips. The blood that had managed to pool and harbour inside my mouth made me choke. I spluttered, not being able to breathe efficiently.

"Aye, enough!" Vaas yelled and in an instant the pirate stopped. The pain set in and my whole face throbbed as I continued to wheeze for air. I blinked a few times to regain my sight. I saw Vaas shuffling towards me, his shoulders hunched and his eyebrows furrowed. His expression was very strange; he was neither angry nor gloating, but I could see clearly that he had no sympathy for me in the slightest. As he encroached nearer, he spat at the ground. The pirate who had hold of my arms released me, but I had not the energy to keep myself upright. My arms lay limp above my head as I lay flat against the ground, making it even harder to breathe.

Vaas stood over me, peering down as he fully absorbed my weakened state now that I had been beaten to a pulp. It wasn't evident in expression, but I was under the impression that he took pleasure from this. He got off to it, for lack of a better term.

"Take her to the prison," Vaas ordered before turning around.

Not being able to move myself, my limp body was lifted from the ground by two pirates. My boots scraped along the ground as they dragged me. My whole world was spinning like I had vertigo.

I was taken to a bamboo cage and tied to one of the posts. Beside me, there was a second cage containing a man. It was difficult to determine whether or not this man was dead or simply unconscious. It wasn't long before I completely blacked out, too.

When I awoke, there was a slight chill in the night time air. For a brief moment, I had forgotten where I was and what I was doing there. Once my sight adjusted to my surroundings, I was painfully reminded. I saw a pirate on guard, but he was facing the opposite way and hadn't noticed I was awake. The prisoner beside me still hadn't budged since I passed out; I feared that I'd have to face that same fate if I didn't find a way out of here quickly.

I wriggled slightly and noticed that my wrists had been tied behind my back – shoddily, I will add. They were loose and my fingers could easily clasp the knot in the rope. I picked at the bonds and fidgeted as subtly as possible so that I didn't attract the attention of the pirate on guard.

I jumped slightly when I saw Vaas approaching from within the darkness. "Ah, Sleeping Beauty finally awakens," he began as he walked closer to my cage. "Take five, amigo," Vaas ordered his lackey. We were completely alone, not including the assumedly dead body. He crouched down beside me as he peered past the bamboo bars. "How are you feeling, Lara?"

I didn't reply. I completely ignored his presence and continued to fiddle with the bonds.

"I can tell you're still angry, I understand that. But I have a right to feel angry, too, no? I don't give a fuck how you managed to escape for...what? Third time now? The fact is that you keep escaping. What, am I that difficult to be around? Huh? Do I offend you that much? Well, you know what? We're gonna have to put an end to that. I'm sick of this _playing-hard-to-get _routine. Women are all the same, in the end. In the end, you crave submission, you want to be dominated. That's nature, no? You'll see, I'll show you."

I was doing my best to rise above it all; I was a boiling hot pot, bubbling and threatening to overflow. I heard him snickering, when he must have noticed my annoyed expression.

"Okay, I can tell you're not gonna talk to me. So, I'm gonna chill, I'm gonna relax and I want you to do the same, huh?" He stood up from his position beside me and turned around to face the second cage.

Whilst his back was turned, I quickly shimmied out of the ties.

"Aye, wake up, motherfucker," Vaas hollered at the prisoner. The prisoner whimpered and rolled around in the dirt. "Shut your cocksucker!"

I switched on my _stealth mode _once again and quietly shuffled as close to the bars as I could. Vaas wasn't too far in front of me. Slowly I passed my arms through the bars and reached out for Vaas' hands. Before he decided to move away, I quickly grabbed hold of them and yanked him back. He let out a grunt as he slammed into the cage. "Fuck," he groaned. As fast as I could, I tied the rope around his wrists so that he was bound to the cage. The knot was done poorly, but I had to do it quickly before he managed to escape my grasp. I knew it would hold him for long, but hopefully long enough for me to escape.

I expected Vaas to be angry or annoyed, but instead I heard him let out a throaty chuckle. I kicked at the door of the bamboo cage and at the fourth kick, it swung open. Vaas was struggling in the knot as I made my way around to face him.

"I didn't think this would be your kind of foreplay, Lara," Vaas joked. "You always surprise me."

"Well contrary to popular belief, I'm a take charge kind of girl. You shouldn't be so narrow minded, Vaas." I had severely underestimated Vaas' strength. Instead of attempting to untie the knot, he was pulling at the bonds and I could hear the bamboo creaking and splintering. It was only a matter of time before he broke free. "Where have you taken Sam?"

"I fucking told you already; I killed her."

"A little birdie told me otherwise."

"I ain't telling you shit." I reached into his pockets in search for some sort of evidence; I doubted he'd ever confess. "To the left, a little. That's it, right there." He whispered in my ear as I searched every pocket. "Once I'm finished with you, you'll be speaking in tongues." I felt his tongue flick the shell of my ear and out of instinct, I backed up and threw my fist into his face. "Do you like the rough stuff, huh?" Another punch. "Hit me harder." Another punch. "Fuck, let it all out." _Punch, punch, punch._

Was it wrong that I took pleasure out of this violence?

He was laughing, still. His lip bled profusely and the blood stained his teeth, making his grin even more sadistic and sinister. I was out of breath; it felt good to let all that anger out, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit ashamed for having done it.

"Doesn't it feel good? Letting all that anger and that pain out? Do you finally understand that you are no different to me or anyone else? I can admit it. It's impossible to contain that inner turmoil living in this world's cruel and irrational reality, doing the same thing, day in, day out. We all have our demons. My point is, is that we stopped checking for monsters under our beds when we realised they were inside us. Have you found yours yet?"

I suddenly felt sick. I felt sick that I had allowed myself to take pleasure in such sadism and volatility. But how dare he speak as if we were on the same level. Though I felt guilty for what I'd done, I was certain that I wasn't remotely like Vaas.

"Is this a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" I asked as I reached towards his holster. I removed the gun and placed it in my own.

"Motherfucker," he uttered through gritted teeth. Now, he was angry. He writhed even more so now, so I fled before he could break free.

Cautiously, I ventured further into the camp, hiding behind any obstacle or building that I could. I heard Vaas shouting and ordering his men to search for me. He saw which way I had went, so it was unwise to try and escape through the only exit I was aware of. They'd all be coming from that direction. I had to run the opposite way, even though I knew there was no other way out.

As I ran, I spotted a quadbike hidden in the foliage. Hearing the stampede of pirates behind me, this was my only chance of outrunning them. I hopped on and twisted the handle.

"Oh, shit," I whispered as the bike decided to stammer and refuse to start. "Come on!" I jiggled the handle a little more and eventually, I was off. The roar of the engine overpowered the roar of the men behind me. I heard gunshots. They were trying to shoot at the tyres in order to throw me off.

Up ahead of me I could see the fence – this was a total dead end. Feeling under pressure, I had to think up a plan quick. I knew it was crazy and I knew the stunt would most likely fail, but I had to try. I rode up a bumpy hill, full throttle, leaning forward in hopes that it'd help the vehicle move a little faster. As I approached the peak of the hill, I closed my eyes and prayed. I drove off the edge. It was like the world started moving in slow motion. When I reopened my eyes, I could clearly tell that the vehicle wasn't going to make it over the fence. The front wheel nicked the top of that fence and sent me flying over the top. I screamed as my arms flailed mid air. I rebounded off the impact of the ground and rolled a metre or two. I took a quick glance at the fleet of pirates behind the metal fence before pushing myself up off the ground. Holding my rib cage, I attempted a staggering run deeper into the jungle, before they had a chance to recapture me.


	14. Counting Bodies like Sheep

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **'_Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums_' is a song by A Perfect Circle.

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** Thanks to XEri-chanX, RaumKatze, Archangeluca, and two mysterious guests for the reviews on FF . net. I hate writing action scenes so it was nice to get the reviews that I did. Thanks to those on Tumblr, too!

To the guest who commented on Lara's strength, I will point out that she hasn't really had a chance to show it yet. Mostly, she's just been running away from her problems instead of facing them, therefore we haven't really seen her backbone. Also, bear in mind that she's up against Vaas. No amount of wilderness training can prepare anyone for someone who's so unpredictable and impulsive. There are times where I like to put myself into the protagonists place and think, _what would I do if were in this situation? _I'd like to think that Lara knows her limits and that maybe there are times where it's best not to fight; it's not that she's weak, she just wants to survive. Hopefully, my readers have noticed that Vaas is getting to her, getting under her skin. He said himself that insanity can be infectious. She is at a constant war, both physically and mentally. She's battling to rescue both herself and her friends, but whilst doing so her mind is in peril.

And that _was _a small reference to _Silence of the Lambs_!

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I fangirl hard over Lara's dual pistols. Why does she only whip them out once during the new game?

Kind of irrelevant to this story, but I already have plans for another Vaas-fic after this is finished. I might – repeat _might – _post a prologue or synopsis of the story if I get around to it.

Once again, kind of irrelevant to this story, but does anyone remember the Pop-up Pirate game? That shit was the bomb.

**Chapter 14: Counting Bodies like Sheep**

Even when my ankles threatened to give way and my throat had become coarse and dry, I refused to stop running. I held onto my ribs even still, to soothe the bruising pain which had been worsened from the stitch I suffered. Vaas had driven a good few miles out to reach the pirate cove, so the run back was lengthy and exhausting. It was pitch black by the time I returned to my retreat.

Have you ever walked into a room and instantly knew that something wasn't right? No-one has to say or do anything, but you can instantaneously feel something wicked infecting the atmosphere. That's what I felt when I walked into our camp. When I entered, their reactions seemed delayed, lethargic almost. Roth was the first one to notice my appearance. There was relief in his expression, but there must have been something else bothering him. Though he greeted me with a hug, it was weak and held back, as if he was hiding something from me.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Roth whispered as the others gathered around me.

"What did they do to you, Lara? What happened?" Natasha questioned, eyeing the dry blood on my skin and staining my vest. I raised an eyebrow at her strange tone. She sounded unenthusiastic; like her concern was forced.

"Don't worry about me, I'm still alive. Sam is still alive, too – I just don't know wh–" I cut my sentence short when I noticed a decrease in headcount. "Wait, wait, where's Chris?" I quickly scanned the rest of the cave, but he was nowhere to be found.

I waited for their answer; they simply stood there, tight lipped and refusing to look into my eyes.

"Where is he?" I repeated more sternly.

"We tried to stop him, Lara," Natasha started. "He wouldn't listen to reason."

"Chris tried following you when you left here, this morning." Roth added.

My heart dropped into my stomach. I felt as if I was going to throw up. I paced the cave, feeling as if I'd collapse if I stood in one place for too long. It's difficult to describe what I truly felt at that moment. I felt sick, almost. I'd virtually been informed that another one of my friends is either being held hostage or worse, dead. We were dropping like flies. First Steph, then Sam and now Chris. How long did I have till the next one vanished?

"Lara, I don't know what else to say," Roth confessed. "I didn't want this. I know you wouldn't have wanted this, but there was nothing we could do."

"That may be so, but there is something I cando." I picked up the bow and arrows that the camp used to hunt and started towards the exit of the cave.

"What are you doing?" Seb asked.

"Don't do this again. You're hurt as it is," Roth attempted persuading me. "We can't keep losing numbers like this!"

I ignored their protests and continued anyway. I could still hear them shouting even when I disappeared into the shrubbery.

This time, when I entered the camp, I'd have darkness to aid me. All my time on this island I had been treating the dark as a negative. My original thought was that I should be afraid of what could be lurking amidst the shadows when really I should embrace it and mould it to my advantage. The pirates couldn't scare me if I scared them first.

Where the terrain rose slightly, I perched. I eyed every exit, every nook and every cranny within the camp – I'd already observed this camp previously, so knowing my way around shouldn't be too hard. As I expected, the small cluster of pirates were surrounding the execution stage. Without Vaas residing within this camp at that moment in time, the number of pirates seemed low. Regardless of Vaas' presence, they were going to have their fun anyway. Upon the stage, there was a prisoner. I couldn't see his face, but it wasn't difficult to figure out who it was. Chris was being forced to his knees, his hands tied behind his back. Accompanying him on that stage were two pirates; one acted as the leader of the thugs while the other held a gun to the back of his head. I was too far away to hear what the leader was saying to Chris. Other than the pirates situated at the stage, there was less than a handful of other pirates guarding the perimeter of the camp.

Slowly, I raised my bow. Eyeing my oblivious and easy target, I stretched the string. _Come on, Lara, you can do this, _I reassured myself taking in a deep inhale before holding my breath_. _After hearing the strain of the bow, I released the arrow. Bullseye. Silently, the arrow flew through the air and into my target's head. My dad always did say I had learnt from the best.

I crept down the bank and neared the chain-link fence that surrounded the camp. There was an area where the fence had been torn from the ground creating a big enough gap for me to slide under. It was a tight squeeze, but if I did it smoothly enough, I'd be able to do it without rustling the links. Sliding the bow under first, I followed suit and military crawled underneath, being careful not to knock the fence in the process. Once under, I stayed crouched and made my way toward the corpse of the pirate I'd just killed, ducking behind small buildings and crates as I did so.

Looting the corpse, I picked up his bowie knife along with the holster and a second pistol.

Before being able to loot anything else, I heard the whistling of a pirate. I quickly hid around the corner of one of the buildings and waited.

"What the fuck?" I heard him whisper slowly. Once his footsteps came to a complete stop beside the corpse, I leapt out of my cover and scurried towards the living pirate before he was able to alert the others. As he was about to let out an alarmed yelp, I brought my hand to his mouth and ran the bowie knife through his stomach. He looked me directly in the eyes. It was an odd intermission. As I watched the array of emotions quickly switching from one to the other, they mirrored my own. I had instilled the exact emotions upon them that they did upon me. This man now feared me – albeit his fear wouldn't last long before his demise, but he feared me nonetheless. Was this a good thing? I never wanted to be feared, but it seemed like the only method that worked well enough to stop the pirates.

I stabbed him a second time; I heard gargling. His eyes fluttered to a close and not long after, he collapsed beside the other dead pirate.

Climbing atop of one of the tarnished buildings I took cover behind a few crates. I took out the remaining few stragglers patrolling the outskirts of the camp with ease. No-one would acknowledge their disappearance.

The huddle of pirates would prove to be more challenging. Once I had taken out one of them, that'd attract the entire pack, so I was going to have to be quick.

My first target: the guy who held a gun to Chris' head.

"Ready, aim, fire." The arrow knocked the pirate back and there was complete silence for approximately one second only.

"Find cover," I heard the leader of the small pirate gang yell. "Sound the alarm!"

I spotted one straggler running towards a power box of sorts. Equipping my pistol I shot at it, knowing it to be the alarm. The last thing I wanted was to be even more outgunned than I already was. The pirate whose intentions was to trigger the alarm, quickly turned around in my direction. The bullet just about grazed him. Unfortunately for him, his fright would lead to his demise, for the second time I fired, it would not miss.

Now I knew for certain, I had caught the attention of every living pirate within this camp. They shot at me, but I stayed hidden behind the crates. It wasn't until one of them through a grenade when I knew it wasn't wise to stay put.

As quickly as possible, I jumped off the building, firing at one of the pirates in the process. The grenade blew up, shattering the crates and creating a slight distraction to the pirates.

I took this opportunity to draw my second pistol and began firing wildly, until I found cover.

"C'mon, shoot her, motherfuckers! You heard what Vaas said; kill the bitch." It seemed as if Vaas had terminated his previous agenda – to capture me alive – in order to make way for the new initiative – _kill the bitch._

With only three visible pirates remaining I couldn't possibly fail. I wouldn't allow it. It wasn't until this newfound determination set in when I noticed that Chris was no longer on the executioner's stage. Nevertheless, I had to soldier on before attempting to find him.

When one pirate abandoned his cover, I left mine in order to shoot as he attempted to duck behind a second cover. I dove to the side when the other two pirates took this as their chance to shoot. Mid-air, I shot both pistols at the two pirates. There was total silence when the last pirate fell and Chris was still nowhere to be seen.

Staying vigilant, I kept my pistols out, aiming sporadically in case I wasn't truly alone.

"Chris?" I whisper-shouted.

"Lara!" Chris made his presence known when he leapt out from behind one of the buildings and began running towards me. His arms were still tied behind him. Taking a good look at his face, I knew that the pirates could have done a lot worse to him, for which I was somewhat thankful.

I started running towards Chris and amidst our shared elation, relief had let my guard down. That sole moment of remote happiness was raped from me when I heard a single gunshot echo. How was I to protect him? Chris came tumbling towards me, heavy and limp. I caught him before he could hit the ground. Within my state of shock, I didn't react quick enough to defend myself.

There was a second shot, followed by searing pain. The pirate had attempted shooting at me, but Chris acted as my human barricade. The bullet just managed to skim the skin of my upper arm, leaving a nasty looking gash. I fell to my knees under the weight of Chris and from the pain in my arm.

Before the pirate could take a third shot at me, I screamed as I shot at the attacker in a bloodthirsty frenzy. Even after I knew the pirate was dead and had been riddled with bullets, I continued to shoot.

I stopped shooting when I heard the spluttering of Chris. I looked down upon him as he coughed and choked on his own blood; he was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't make out what.

"Shh," I hushed to him as I continued to hold his paralysed body. "It's going to be alright," I lied. It looked as if he was beginning to find it difficult to even move his lips. My lip trembled when he completely stopped moving, easing into complete silence.

Another one from the Endurance, down. Were we all going to face a similar fate to this?

I felt something come into contact with my shoulder. Already in a jumpy mood, I screamed. Startled, I leapt up and quickly aimed a gun at the mysterious figure. I instantly lowered it when I recognised that mysterious figure to be Dennis. His hands were to show that he meant no harm.

"They killed him, Dennis," I murmured. "I was so close."

"I'm sorry for your loss; there isn't anything we can do for him now. Your friends came to Amanaki asking for our help. They told me that you had run into danger and were in need of aid; instead I find that you have taken down an entire camp by yourself." I suppose Dennis' intentions were to praise me – but why would such barbaric and vicious ways want praising? Given, the only way I'd survive on this island was to use violence, that didn't necessarily mean that it was a good thing worthy of condoning. It was immoral and only the savage regard the distribution of bloodshed as the measure of value.

I stayed silent, however. Dennis' ways were just different to mine.

I heard a vehicle pull up outside the camp. As well as of the Rakyat, my friends were also within that said vehicle. Hurriedly, I walked over to them. Roth immediately wrapped me in a hug as soon as I was in arms length.

"He didn't make it," I informed them as I held onto Roth. "He should never have followed me."

The whole gang was quiet. Still in Roth's grip, I watched as more Rakyat filled the camp. This was only a small feat, but an enemy camp had been overthrown and that was progress for them.

"Lara, you're hurt," Seb pointed out as I broke away from Roth. I was so upset that I'd just about forgotten the flesh wound.

"It's nothing; just a scratch. I could easily fix it, but I lack the equipment."

"Sorry, for interrupting, but may I suggest checking in with the doctor?" Dennis spoke up.

"Doctor? I wasn't aware you had a doctor on this island," I responded.

"Dr Earnheardt's the name. Don't know much about him, but I can assure you, he's fully qualified."

"Yet, you still sound seemingly suspicious."

"And with good reason. You see, Dr Earnheardt, like many on this island, is completely insane. Harmless, I'm sure, but insane nevertheless. He also...caters to the pirates."

"Caters to? I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"To put it simply, Earnheardt likes to delve into to some pretty hard drugs and hallucinogens and he sells some of his produce to the pirates, including Vaas."

"So, you're sending me to an insane, hardcore drug addict who has some affiliation with the one guy I definitely do not want to run into?" It seems as if my entire time on this island had just been filled with fool's errands.

Dennis didn't reply; he just waited for a definite answer.

"Lara, you're losing a lot of blood, you need to seriously consider this," Natasha inputted.

I knew if I did this, I'd be able to pick up enough supplies to heal myself and to have enough to tide the whole group over for a number of days – that's to say that we'd need healing during those days. I sighed in defeat, knowing that the right option was always going to be the hardest one.


	15. What the Doctor Ordered

**Author Notes**

**WARNINGS: ** Strong language, violence, angst and scenes some may find offensive.

**CROSSOVER: **Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider (2013)

**PAIRING:** Vaas Montenegro, Lara Croft

**REFERENCES: **Neverland is from Peter Pan.

I suppose there's some kind of inspiration from _Inglourious Basterds _in this chapter.

**RATING:** M

**NOTES:** So...I should explain myself for having left this story for so long. First of all, when I started this story, it was winter. That means I don't get out much because of the weather, but when summer swings around I'm like the busiest person. There's always something going on. There was the hardcore revision which led to even more hardcore exams (finals ones before uni, I may add). After that I got a puppy *cue the aww's*. When I got him he was 6 weeks old and I literally couldn't leave him alone, he was like a baby. Now he's over 4 months old and he's a little more independent but is still hard work, so bear with me. I've also been on holiday to Spain and got a nice tan ogling the sexy natives. So, yeah, pretty much busy, on top of that I'm a major procrastinator.

Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to apologise for something in the previous chapter. I have no idea why, but when I uploaded the chapter to FanFiction, it removed some spaces therefore merging words together that didn't make sense. I'm not sure if it did it on Tumblr, too, because I haven't checked, but it definitely wasn't like that in the word file. As for the typos, they were my fault.

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and shit on FF . net and those who liked/reblogged it on Tumblr. Special thanks to the reviewers, I need to answer some of your questions actually.

GJ115: **Am I planning on having Hoyt or Citra make an appearance?**

At this moment in time, I actually don't entirely know. I'd like them to make some appearance, but if they did, it'd only be small.

evolution-500: **Will I be using the iconic 'definition of insanity' speech?**

Ugh, I feel terrible for saying this, but I am sick to death of that monologue. It's such a great one, too, but it's such a great speech that it's totally overused. Buuuut, there will be some sort of...reference to it, further on in the story. I will not be using it word for word because that screams, unoriginal.

Anquietas: **Will Jason appear?**

Jason and his friends will be mentioned, but they won't appear. The skydiving incident hasn't happened in this story yet.

Raluca Teodora, you should totally play Far Cry 3. Do it. Do it, do it, do it! And I'm glad you noticed all my hat tips to A:MR. It's been that long that I don't even remember which chapters have those references. I wouldn't say the Rakyat were overly friendly. They just didn't want to make any more enemies I suppose. And I know you haven't played FC3 (don't want to spoil too much), but Dennis was willing to save Jason without even knowing him, so I'd like to think he'd so the same for Lara.

Insanity: **Y U NO UPDATE?**

I explained this earlier on.

Thanks, CaptainKatie643, schoolruler, XxsopoxX, Vaasfan, Teamdarly and one guest for your review. As for the other guest...I don't even. If you don't like Vaas, don't take it out on my story. Yes, I know he's a dick, but, bitch, please. I know you didn't disrespect my story in any way, but please don't review with a vent about how you can't stand him. It wasn't even constructive criticism.

**Chapter 15: What the Doctor Ordered**

Dennis drove me to Dr Earnhardt's as soon as we left the pirate camp. I told my friends to wait in Amanaki for my return – hopefully, I wouldn't be too long. The Sun was beginning to rise and I hadn't caught a single wink of sleep that night. I was constantly falling in and out of slumber on the way there, but Dennis kept shaking me awake in fear that I wouldn't wake again due to the major blood loss.

As I was about to drift off again, Dennis came to a sudden halt, jolting me into vigilance. My wide eyes turned to Dennis. "This is as far as I can take you. Dr Earnhardt's house is just up this hill, you can't miss it. From what I can see, the place is clear of pirates, so you should be safe," he explained. "Though, it bears repeating that you should have your wits about you when in his company. He's harmless, but can be hard work."

I nodded and stepped out of the vehicle. I held my arm suddenly feeling the pain of the injury. "Thank you," I muttered as I turned away and started walking up to the Earnhardt abode.

The house seemed out of place in this environment. It was just a white picket fence away from being the idyllic, suburban American home. The garden was even adorned with a little stream and a bridge to boot – how quaint.

I knocked on the front door, making sure to use my good arm. On the other side of the door there was a surprised exclaim followed by a crash and a bang ultimately leading to the door actually opening. I was greeted by a flustered-looking old man. His white hair was ruffled and his eyes seemed sunken. I had forgotten that the morn was still early.

"I'm sorry to wake you," I began. The man, who I assumed to be the doctor, squinted as if trying to make me out in his weary eyes. "I need your help," I continued though I don't think he was paying attention to a word I was saying. With his eyes still squinted, he began slowly falling forward. When he got too close, I had to hold onto him to stop him from completely keeling over. "Whoa, there, are you okay?"

"Are you one of Agnes' friends? It's a little early to be playing out, isn't it?" He questioned.

"Excuse me? I think you may have me confused," I replied. Surely, this was the doctor. He seemed absolutely mad.

"Oh." He stared at me with a surprised expression for a moment and then started to close the door.

I quickly placed the hand on the door to stop him from shutting it further. "No, sir, I came here for your help. Are you Dr Earnhardt? I was told you were the man to come to if I needed aid."

"Oh, my dear child, I'm so sorry. Please, come in." He smiled, opening the door once again. Hesitantly, I entered. He was clearly unstable and through past experiences with other unstable men, I knew they were not to be trusted. In the end, did I really have a choice?

The house was a complete pig sty. There was furniture, books and paper scattered everywhere and there was the strangest, pungent stink in the air. I didn't want to think about what that smell could be. He led me into the kitchen, where the smell grew even stronger. This is where he must have done his "cooking". Some weird substances were simmering in a pot over the stove and multicoloured pills were scattered on the counter beside it.

"I'm going to have to ask you to keep quiet; my daughter Agnes is still asleep upstairs and I'd hate for her to disturb. Now, what was it you wanted?"

"I was shot. I was told you could heal me." I showed him my bloodied arm which was still bleeding even now.

"I'll be right back," he grinned.

I could still hear him rustling around in the room next to me. He seemed kind enough, if not a little skittish. "So, you said you had a daughter; Agnes? How old is she?" I questioned for the sake of small talk.

"Ah, Agnes, the light of my life. She's almost eight now," he answered, returning with a medical kit. "She was only two when we arrived on this island, before all those pirates inhabited the jungle. It's a funny story. I took my daughter sailing with me, I wanted to show her the world, but we happened to stumble upon this island. It was beautiful. The place reminded me of an island that was in a book I used to read to my daughter – _Neverland_. Naturally, we had to stop and explore. What was supposed to be a short stay turned into fulltime residency. At least Neverland stays true to its name; it feels as if Agnes hasn't aged a day. She'll always be the little two-year-old angel who always wanted her daddy's attention."

I smiled at his words. I kept the notion that he was a madman whose words could be total nonsense in the back of my head, but to hear his stories still brightened up my mood slightly. He spoke so sweetly of Agnes, but I just couldn't get my head around how she could have survived here for so long with such brutish savages plaguing every part of this island.

He continued to tell me stories of Agnes as he stitched me up and tended to any other wounds. It was as if he was speaking amongst himself rather than towards me, but I humoured him nonetheless.

"Agnes sounds like a lovely child, but I must ask, how have you managed to raise her with pirates being around every corner?"

"The pirates bare no threat to me or Agnes. They are by no means kind or friendly people, but they respect me. They don't love me, they _respect _me. And I, on the other hand, I don't respect them in any aspect, but I endure them. I have to tolerate them for Agnes' sake and safety."

"I'd love to meet Agnes." After everything that's been happening lately, it'd be nice to see something innocent. It was nice knowing that within all the darkness on this island, there was some purity.

After Dr Earnhardt finished up bandaging my arm, he turned away momentarily returning with bowls of, what looked like, pills. "Take one of the blue pills," he ordered. "They'll numb the pain...or was it the red ones? No, no, it was definitely the blue pills."

I stared at them sceptically. He rattled them slightly to urge me further. "Are you sure? My parents told me never to take sweets from strangers, let alone pills."

"Darling, I'm a real doctor with a real PhD. If you still doubt my authenticity, I can show you my degree, if you like?"

"No, no, I believe you." I stared down at the pills. Here goes nothing. I quickly grabbed one of the blue ones and swallowed it dry.

"The purple ones are for me," the doctor stated with joy.

"And the red ones?"

"They'll kill you," he replied nonchalantly.

My eyes widened at his response. Not a moment ago he was confusing the blue with the red, now he seemed so calm about it. Surely, this was something you should know for definite; which pills were poison and which acted as medicine.

My moment of panic was cut short when I heard movement from upstairs. I assumed it was coming from Agnes. With the floorboards creaking, I could pinpoint exactly where she was with every footstep.

"Here's my little angel now," Earnhardt gleamed as he awaited her presence.

"Good morning," a familiar voice greeted. My neck almost snapped at the speed I turned around. "Lara?"

I quickly stood up and engulfed Sam in a tight hug. I was completely awestruck and relieved at the sight of my dear friend who was once lost but now found. "Oh, my God. I'm so glad you're alright. I thought I wasn't ever going to be able to find you."

"Ah, so you are one of Agnes' friends then?" Earnhardt asked again. Both Sam and I glanced at each other with equally confused expressions. "I'll put the kettle on, you two take a seat."

I sat back down at the table with Sam joining me this time. We smiled at each other, slightly lost on where to begin. "So, what's his deal?" I asked firstly, finding this Dr Earnhardt character to be a strange one. I whispered under my breath so that he didn't actually hear me questioning his mentality.

Sam shrugged her shoulders before answering. "He refers to me as Agnes who, I'm pretty sure, is his daughter. There're pictures of a little girl framed upstairs in my room which I'm assuming are of her."

"Where is she? What happened to her?"

"I haven't the nerve to ask. He's so convinced that I'm her, I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise. I know he seems a little weird, but he wouldn't hurt a fly. When Vaas sold me to him, I feared the worst. I just thought he was going to be a total creep. And I know being sold to anyone isn't exactly a good thing, but it could have seriously been far worse. At least I'm looked after here. He dotes on me and keeps me well nourished – nowhere near like how I was treated at that camp. They're selling people, Lara. They're actually making a profit from forcing innocent people into slavery and other nasty business."

I sighed in disgust. I couldn't bear to be on this island a moment longer. I was just happy that I had finally found Sam, safe.

Dr Earnhardt returned to the table with a tray of tea and began pouring out the liquid into teacups. "So, I fear I have been incredibly rude. We haven't been properly introduced, have we? I am Dr Alec Earnhardt," after finishing pouring tea for three, he stretched out his arm.

I took his hand and shook it happily. "Lara Croft, pleasure to meet you, Doctor."

"Is that an English accent I detect?"

"You detect correctly. Westminster, London."

"Ah, I'm an Oxford man, myself."

As we all sipped our tea, we indulged in pointless chit chat. It was mainly to appease Dr Earnhardt more than anything. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to get out of there and reunite with the rest of my group so that we could finally plan to get off this island. Now that he was convinced that Sam was his daughter, he wasn't going to let her go too easily.

"Father," Sam started. I raised my eyebrow and suppressed a chortle. I sipped my tea to hide my grin. "Is it okay if I go out to play with Lara for a while?"

"Of course, but I don't want you out too late."

"Come on, Lara. I want to show you something before we go out," Sam declared as she held onto my arm.

I was led upstairs to her "room". Everything was pink for his little Agnes. Sure enough, there were pictures of a little toddler everywhere. I'd love to know what really happened to her.

"Freaky, huh?" Sam joked as she showed me around. There was silence as I examined the room, until Sam broke it again. "Lara, I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but what happened after I left you in Vaas' camp?"

"It's a very long story. Maybe one day, I'll tell you, but a lot has happened, Sam. It'll take too long to tell in one sitting. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here. We can't stay situated in one place for too long; Vaas is looking for me. I'm jumping at shadows, Sam. I can't help but always feel as if somehow he's watching my every move."

I looked out of the window of the balcony. As if by some cruel twist of fate, one of the pirates' signature red trucks was pulling up outside of Dr Earnhardt's home.

"Oh, shit," I exclaimed. Speak of the Devil and he shall appear. "He's here, Sam!"

"What?" Before I could explain myself, I grabbed onto Sam and dragged her downstairs with me.

"Doctor, I need your help. Vaas is just outside and I have to ask you to keep quiet about my being here, please. If he knows that I was here, he could hurt you, maybe even Agnes. So you're going to have to help me hide."

I knew as soon as I had mentioned the notion of Agnes being maimed, he wouldn't hesitate to help. "Agnes, help your friend hide under the house. Use the back door," he ordered quickly with panic evident in his eyes.

Quietly, but quickly, Sam and I snuck out of the back door. I could hear Vaas' heavy footsteps making their way over the bridge. Sam motioned for me to crawl into a small opening under the house, so I did so willingly. I stopped crawling when I heard a knock at the front door. I lay on my back as still as a statue with my hand covering my mouth so that even my breathing couldn't be heard.

From my position, I could see through the cracks of the floorboards, but only slightly. I watched as Dr Earnhardt went to answer the door.

"I need a fix, doc." I heard Vaas barge into the house, uninvited, but what did I expect? He sounded tired and slightly unsettled in his tone. "I'm getting the shakes here, so, uh, make it quick, eh?"

His combat boots shuffled against the floor slightly, causing dust and dirt to fall from the floorboards and onto my face. He was stood directly above me, legs slightly apart. The sadistic side of me couldn't help thinking that I could easily blow his balls straight off right now if I risked pulling my gun from my holster. However, I didn't want to make the slightest noise that could possibly attract unwanted attention.

"Hey, Sammy, did you miss me?" Vaas mocked. From his question, I deduced that Sam was back inside the house now.

Sam never answered his question, but instead I heard footsteps running up the stairs. Vaas chuckled to himself, finding pleasure in Sam's discomfort.

As I watched Vaas, I noticed that his ability to stay still was slowly deteriorating. The longer Earnhardt was gone, the more fidgety he became. He was like an impatient child, swinging his arms, pacing back and to, touching and inspecting random objects to keep his mind occupied.

"Ay, what's taking so long? I said I wanted a fucking fix, I didn't say you had to gift wrap it with a fucking bow on top," Vaas hollered as he stomped into the kitchen.

"Patience is a virtue, Mr Montenegro," retorted Earnhardt.

"I don't give a fuck about your virtue and vice bullshit, just hurry the fuck up." He leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen and watched the doctor rush around. There was silence for a short while, but something had perked Vaas' interest. "What's this? You had company or something, amigo? A little, uh, ménage à trois?"

"Excuse me?" Earnhardt stopped what he was doing to direct his attention to what had caught Vaas'. My eyes squeezed shut as my stomach dropped. I wasn't sure what it was Vaas was speculating, but his tone was already suspicious. Damn his powerful observational skills.

"There's, uh, three cups here. Last time I checked there're only two living in this house. I must ask, who was the third cup for?"

"Oh, uh, I merely poured myself a second cup. It was rather delicious – can I persuade you to try a cup?"

Following Earnhardt's terrible cover-up, there was an uncomfortable silence. The awkwardness was emphasised by the fact that I couldn't properly make out what was actually happening above me. I could make out, however, that it was going to be a little more difficult to pull the wool over Vaas' eyes.

"Are you hiding something from me, doc?"

"Whatever do you mean? What would I be hiding? The idea is completely preposterous!" I cringed at Earnhardt's further attempts to trick Vaas. Maybe he was just too honest of a man or maybe he was just insane, but he sincerely could not tell a successful lie.

"Okay, man, it's fine, it's fucking fine. I have no reason not to believe you, no? I didn't come here to play no games with you; just give me what I came here for and I'll be on my way."

When Earnhardt sighed and returned to his task, I could make out Vaas crouching. He was trying to examine something below him. After poking at something on the floor, he raised his hand and took a closer look at his finger. Blood coated the tip of his index – my blood. "You had an accident, amigo?" There was no reply. Vaas began slowly moving closer to my hiding spot in his crouched position with his eyes fixated on something on the floor. He tracked what I could only assume to be a trail of my blood with his hawk eyes. Suddenly, he stopped. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips. "I spy with my little eye something beginning with _R_," he sneered. He lay on the floor above me and peered down through the small crevice. "Rat."


End file.
